Journal 


OF   A 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS 


liV  THE    YEAR   1805, 


By  timothy    BIGELOW. 


TOitjj  an  ]Introtiutti0n  tg  a  ©rantigon. 


"  Vita  enim  mortuorum  in  memoria  vivorum  est  posita."  —  Cic. 


BOSTON: 

PRESS   OF   JOHN    WILSON   AND    SON. 

1876. 


J 


INTRODUCTION. 


T^HIS  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  Niagara  Falls,  now 
^  for  the  first  time  printed,  was  lost  sight  of  for 
many  years.  Several  months  ago,  an  antiquarian 
friend  brought  it  to  me,  saying  it  had  been  acciden- 
tally found  among  some  papers  recently  examined 
by  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Soci- 
ety. Through  the  good  offices  of  my  friend,  and 
by  the  kindness  of  a  relative  to  whose  family  the 
papers  referred  to  belonged,  it  has  been  given  to 
me,  coupled  only  with  the  suggestion  that  I  should 
print  it ;  a  suggestion  with  which  I  feel  it  my  duty 
to  comply.  And  I  do  this  willingly,  both  as  a 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  an  honored 
ancestor,  and  because  the  Journal  itself,  written 
more  than  seventy  years  ago,  cannot  fail  to  be 
instructive  and  interesting  at  the  present  time.  It 
throws  light  on  the  condition  of  a  section  of  our 
country,  then  almost  a  wilderness,  now  teeminsr 
with  population.     It  describes  the  appearance  of 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

the  newly  settled  lands,  the  quality  and  products 
of  the  soil,  the  signs  and  development  of  mineral 
wealth,  the  diversified  scenery,  and  the  habits  and 
manners  of  the  people.     The  account,  also,  which 
it  gives  of  the  inconveniences  and  dangers  of  trav- 
elling in  those  times,  and  the  whimsical  distresses 
to  which  Mr.  Bigelow^   and    his   companions  were 
subjected,  is  graphic  and  entertaining.     It  may  be 
not  without  profit  to  contrast  our  experiences  of 
travelling  in  this  age  of  steam,  surrounded  by  so 
many  appliances  for  comfort  and  luxury,  with  those 
narrated  in  this  Journal.     Perhaps  it  will  result  in 
looking  back  with  less  regret  at  what  are  called 
the  "good  old  days,"  and  in  cultivating  a  spirit  of 
greater  contentment  with  our  own. 

I  have  compiled  from  various  sources,  but 
chiefly  from  Lincoln's  ''  History  of  Worcester,"  the 
following  biographical  sketch  of  the  author  :  — 

Timothy  Bigelow  was  born  in  Worcester,  April 
30,  1767.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Timothy 
and  Anna  Bigelow.  His  father,  a  gallant  and  dis- 
tinguished officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  served 
as  major  under  Arnold  in  his  expedition  to  Canada, 
and  was  taken  prisoner  in  the  assault  on  Quebec, 
Dec.  31,  1775.  He  remained  in  captivity  until 
the  summer  of  the  year   1776,  when  he  was  ex- 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

changed.  Soon  after  his  return,  he  was  commis- 
sioned as  Colonel,  and  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Fifteenth  ^lassachusetts  Regiment  in  the 
Continental  Army  ;  a  body  noted  for  its  intrepidity 
and  discipline  throughout  the  war,  and  on  one 
occasion,  during  a  review,  receiving  the  marked 
commendation  of  Washington.  iVt  the  close  of  the 
war,  he  was  stationed  at  West  Point,  and  afterwards 

assigned  to  the  command  of  the  arsenal  at  Spring- 

• 

field.  Colonel  Bigelow  died  March  31,  1790,  in 
the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age.  He  was  an  ardent 
and  devoted  patriot,  who  thought  no  dangers  or 
sacrifices  too  great  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
A  monument  erected  to  his  memory  at  Worcester 
in  1861,  by  his  great-grandson,  Timothy  Bigelow 
LawTence,  attests  his  valor  and  hi?  virtues.* 

*  These  characteristic  anecdotes  are  told  of  him:  — 
The  American  army  in  their  quarters  at  Valley  Forge  displayed 
examples  of  constancy  and  resignation  such  as  have  been  rarely  par- 
alleled. In  this  pressing  danger  of  famine  and  a  probable  dissolution 
of  the  army,  Colonel  Bigelow  convened  a  party  of  ollicers  and  sol- 
diers at  his  head-quarters  one  evening,  whf  n  the  subject  of  abandoning 
the  cause  was  fuUv  discussed.  Some  ar<jued  that,  as  Confess  could 
not  clothe  or  feed  them,  thev  did  not  feel  it  to  be  their  dutv  to  leave 
their  families  and  homes,  to  starve  and  freeze  for  a  cause  that  was 
doubtful,  if  not  desperate ;  while  others,  that  they  had  lost  confi- 
dence in  the  cause,  &c.  When  all  who  wished  had  spoken.  Colonel 
Bigelow  arose  and  said:  "  I  have  listened  to  all  the  remarks  of  dis- 
content oifered  here  this  evening ;  but,  as  for  me,  I  have  long  since 
come  to  the  conclusion  to  stand  by  the  American  cause,  come  what 
will.  I  have  enlisted  for  life.  I  have  cheerfully  left  my  home  and 
family.     All  the  friends  I  have  are  -the  friends  of  my  country.      I 

b 


n  ^         INTRODUCTION. 


The  subject  of  this  Memoir  began  his  education 
in  the  public  scliools  of  his  native  town.  This  then 
imperfect  source  of  instruction  was  soon  disturbed 
by  the  troubles  of  the  times ;  and  he  entered  the 
printing  office  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  where  he  was 
occupied  during  two  years.  The  passion  for  books 
was  manifested  amid  the  employments  of  the  press, 
by  the  devotion  of  his  leisure  hours  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  elementary  branches  of  English  and  the 
rudiments  of  Latin.  The  spring  of  the  year  1779 
found  him  in  the  quarters  of  the  Continental 
Army,  posted  to  watch  the  British  forces  in  Ehode 
Island,  gaining  the  manly  accomplishments  a  camp 
aifords,  and  enjoying  the  frank  courtesies  of  mil- 
itary life.  Returning  home,  he  pursued  his  studies 
for  two  years,  under  the  kind  superintendence  of 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  a  son  of  the  Revolutionary 
General,  and  afterwards  under  the  direction  of  the 
celebrated  Samuel  Dexter,  then  a  student-at-law, 
who  accompanied  his  scholar  and  presented  him 
for  admission  at  Harvard  College  in  178*i.  In 
college,  Mr.  Bigelow  took  high  rank  in  a  distin- 


expect  to  suffer  with  cold  and  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  and,  if  need 
be,  I  shall  lay  down  my  life  for  the  liberty  of  these  colonies." 

During  the  Revolution,  many  towns  voted  that  they  would  have  no 
slaves ;  and  it  is  related  of  Colonel  Bigelow  that,  when  solicited  to 
make  sale  of  a  slave  whom  he  owned,  he  replied  that,  "  while  fight- 
ing for  liberty,  he  never  would  be  guilty  of  selling  slaves." 


INTRODUCTION.  Vll 

guished  class,  and  was  graduated  in  1786,  with  an 
unusual  reputation  for  talents  and  culture.  On 
Commencement  Day,  he  took  part  in  a  forensic  dis- 
pute, —  "  Whether  Religious  Disputation  promotes 
the  Interest  of  True  Piety."  Adopting  the  pro- 
fession of  the  law,  he  entered  the  office  of  Levi 
Lincoln,  Sen.,  at  Worcester,  and  remained  there 
until  the  insurrection  broke  out  in  1787,  when 
he  joined  the  army  for  a  few  weeks  as  a  volun- 
teer, and  aided  in  sustaining  the  government 
against  the  wild  designs  of  its  internal  enemies. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1789,  and  began 
in  Groton  the  practice  of  his  profession.*  A  friend 
thus  writes  of  him  in  1790:  "  His  memory  is  re- 
markably tenacious.  He  possesses  a  delicate  taste, 
and  has  a  high  relish  for  belles-lettres.  His  ac- 
quirements are  great,  his  studiousness  indefatigable, 
his  fluency  astonishing.  He  is  a  royal  pleader." 
In  1806,  he  removed  to  Medford,  and,  while  resi- 
dent there,  had  an  office  in  Boston.  His  business 
was  widely  extended.  For  a  long  time,  he  was  one 
of  the  leading  counsel  in  Middlesex  and  Worcester 
Counties,  and  later  became  eminent  at  the  Suffolk 

*  It  may  be  an  encouragement  to  young  practitioners  to  know  that 
Mr.  Bigelow  sat  in  his  office  six  weeks  without  taking  a  fee,  and  then 
received  a  pistareen !  But  Lempriere  says  of  him,  "'It  is  computed 
that  during  a  practice  of  thirty-two  years  he  argued  not  less  than 
15,000  causes." 


via  INTRODUCTION. 

Bar,  besides  being  retained  in  many  of  the  impor- 
tant causes  in  Essex  and  Norfolk.  Thoroughly 
versed  in  his  profession,  his  power  of  analyzing 
the  truth  and  presenting  the  evidence  in  the  case, 
combined  with  his  remarkable  command  of  lan- 
guage, rendered  him  a  highly  popular  advocate, 
and  gave  him  great  success  in  jury  trials.*  His 
large  and  constantly  growing  practice  is  a  proof  of 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  con- 
temporaries ;  and,  if  to  this  be  added  the  general 
testimony  to  his  reputation  that  has  come  down  to 
us,  he  is  entitled  to  be  ranked  among  the  ablest, 
as  he  was  one  of  the  most  respected,  lawyers  of 
his  day. 

Amid  the  engrossing  labors  of  his  profession, 
Mr.  Bigelow  found  time  for  occasional  literary 
productions.  He  delivered  an  oration  before  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at  Cambridge,  July  21, 
1796 ;  a  Ifuneral  Oration  on  Samuel  Dana,  Sen., 
before  the  Benevolent  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  at  Amherst,  N.H.,  April  4,  1798 ;  a 
Eulogy  on  Washington  before  the  Columbian 
Lodge  of  Masons,  at  Boston,  Feb.  11,  1800  ;  and 
an  Address  before  the  Washington  Benevolent 
Society,  at  Boston,  April  30,  1814.     I  take  from 


*  In  "Familiar  Letters   on  Public  Characters,"   Sullivan   says, 
"Perhaps  no  man  has  spoken  to  so  many  juries." 


INTRODUCTION.  JX 

the  latter  the  following  eloquent  passage  that 
deserves  to  be  remembered.  I  also  give  extracts 
from  his  other  addresses.  * 

FROM  THE  ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  WASHINGTON  BENEVO- 
LENT SOCIETY. 

"  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  still  retain  the  right  of  ex- 
pressing our  opinions !     Nor  will  we  ever  surrender  it. 
It  is  our  inheritance  ;  for  let  it  be  remembered  that  our 
ancestors,  from  the  moment  of  their  first  landing  on 
these  shores,  were  always  free ;  that  their  resistanc^e  to 
Great  Britain  was  not  so  much  the  effect  of  actual  suf-  ' 
fering  as  of  apprehension  of  approaching  danger.     It 
was  not  the  resistance  of  slaves,  but  of  those  who  were 
determined  never  to  become  such.     It  is  proverbial,  in 
our  country,  that  Boston  is  the  cradle  of  liberty.     It  is 
not  so  much  her  cradle  as  her  asylum,  not  so  much  her 
place  of  nurture  as  her  citadel.     If  this  were  her  birth- 
place, she  must  have  been  produced  at  once,  as  Minerva 
is  said  to  have  sprung  forth  from  the  brain  of  Jupiter, 
full-grown   and  complete   m  armor.     Except  a   short 
exile   at  the   commencement   of  the   Revolution,  this 
always  was,  and  I  trust  always  will  be,  her  favorite 
abode." 


FROM  THE  PHI  BETA  KAPPA  ORATION. 

"  Though  humanity  and  benevolence  be  justly  a  part 
of  our  national  character,  yet  as  other  nations  are  be- 
hind us,  so  we  have  not  arrived  at  perfection.  There 
still  remains  a  wide  field  for  the  exercise  of  a  generous 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

ambition.  To  revise,  and  mitigate  in  many  eases,  our 
codes  of  criminal  law,  by  endeavoring  to  make  a  re- 
formation of  the  offender,  instead  of  his  extirpation,  the 
object  of  punishment ;  to  transform  our  common  places 
of  confinement  from  seminaries  of  wickedness  and  vil- 
lany  into  schools  of  morality ;  to  liberate  the  unhappy 
Africans  from  the  horrors  of  a  slavery  equally  unjust 
and  inhuman  ;  to  promote  an  interchange  of  good  offices, 
and  a  mild  and  pacific  dispotiition  among  mankind,  —  ob- 
jects like  these  are  worthy  the  pursuit  of  the  noblest 
minds.  Some  of  them  have  already  immortalized  the 
names  of  Penn,  Howard,  and  Wilberforce.  Shall  we 
be  deterred  ?  Shall  we  shrink  in  despair  from  objects 
of  such  magnitude  ?  Is  it  chimerical  to  indulge  a  hope 
that  even  we  may  bear  a  conspicuous  part  in  this  noble 
pursuit  ?  No.  Remembering  that  in  such  a  cause  it 
is  much  more  honorable  to  lead  than  to  follow,  we  will 
lend  our  individual  assistance,  as  circumstances  may 
permit,  and  endeavor  to  give  a  tone  to  public  opinion. 
If  one  man,  by  his  personal  exertion,  could  alleviate  the 
distresses  of  thousands,  scattered  through  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  —  nay,  could  gladden  even  the  horrors  of 
the  East,  —  what  may  not  numbers  achieve  ?  .  .  .  Our 
country  has  already  taught  the  world  the  true  science 
of  government,  and  the  art  to  be  free.  She  exhibits  the 
example  of  a  great  people  flourishing  and  happy,  among 
whom,  to  the  surprise  of  other  nations,  gradations  in 
rank  and  exclusive  rights  are  entirely  unknown.  Why, 
then,  shall  we  not  instruct  the  species  in  ttie  arts  of 
humanity,  and  the  science  of  universal  friendship  ?  Is 
thig  general  diffusion  of  philanthropy  mere  chimera  and 
extravagance  ^    If  it  be,  I  could  almost  wish  that  we 


INTRODUCTIOX.  XI 

might  still  cherish  the  delusion.  For  what  but  the 
reality  could  be  more  grateful  to  benevolent  minds,  than 
a  confident  anticipation  that  the  whole  world  would 
become  a  common  country  to  each  individual ;  that 
mankind  would  be  but  one  family  by  practice  as  well 
as  (extraction,  and  thereby  taste  on  earth  the  joys  of 
heaven  itself?  " 


FROM   THE    FUNERAL  ORATION  ON  SAMUEL  DANA,   SEN. 

*'  When  we  consider  the  wonderful  structure  of  the 
human  mind,  its  capacity  for  successive  improvement 
from  the  dawn  of  infancy  to  the  evening  of  old  age,  the 
passions  and  emotions  by  which  it  is  ennobled,  and  the 
sublime  tendency  of  its  views;  when,  in  short,  we  con- 
sider the  immense  disparity  between  this  image  of  Deity 
and  his  fellow-tenants  of  this  globe,  the  brute  creation,  — 
we  revolt  at  the  idea  of  annihilation,  we  shudder  at  the 
thought  of  sharing  one  common  distinction,  one  eternal 
sleep,  with  the  meanest  insect.  We  cannot  conceive 
that  this  exquisite  specimen  of  creative  omnipotence 
should  be  limited  in  its  existence  to  a  few  years,  when 
even  monuments  of  human  art  survive  the  shock  of 
ages.  When,  therefore,  we  see  one  who  was  distin- 
guished by  his  virtues  locked  in  the  cold  arms  of  death, 
and  lying  in  ruin  before  us,  we  are  impelled  by  a  kind 
of  instinctive  reason,  which  seems  common  to  all  na- 
tions and  times,  to  contemplate  some  vital  spark,  some 
divine  ra^^  which  had  animated  and  illumined  the  man, 
as  only  separated,  not  extinguished  ;  but  with  views  more 
unconfined,  powers  more  unlimited,  and  conceptions 
more  sublime,  still  progressing  in  improvement,  and 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

basking  in  the  sunshine  of  divine  benignity.  .  .  .  Scarce 
eight  months  have  ehipsed,  my  brethren,  since  in  this 
place,  on  the  occasion  of  the  consecration  of  your  Lodge, 
alike  joyful  to  him  and  to  you,  you  saw  him  invested 
with  the  ensigns  of  command,  and  heard  the  words  of 
wisdom  and  brotherly  love  fall  from  his  lips.  But  a 
few  days  are  gone  since-  your  Lodge  saw  him  in  the 
east,  affording  you  light  and  instruction,  and  directing 
\  .iir  work.  Not  all  his  zeal  for  your  welfare  and  happi- 
ness, his  knowledge  in  the  mysteries  of  the  craft,  nor 
the  interest  which  he  had  in  the  affections  of  the  breth- 
ren, could  avert  the  stroke  of  death.  Though  he  regu- 
lated his  conduct  by  the  square,  and  kept  within  com- 
pass ;  though  he  duly  regarded  the  plumb  line,  and  acted 
as  in  view  of  the  all-seeing  Eye,  —  we  now  behold  .'  e 
master  builder  prostrate  before  us,  reduced  by  the  greac 
leveller  of  human  greatn  ss.  But  the  testimonial  roll 
shall  long  remain  incorruptible,  and  the  sprig  of  sweet 
remembrance  shall  flourish  on  his  grave.  While  with 
funeral  pomp  and  masonic  honors  we  transfer  the  re- 
mains of  our  dei^arted  brother  to  the  home  of  silence, 
in  imitation  of  the  wise  Solomon,  the  second  founder 
of  our  order,  let  us  resolve  to  serve  our  Supreme  Grand 
Master  on  high  with  a  perfect  heart  and  a  willing  mind ; 
that  so,  being  duly  prepared,  when  we  shall  be  trans- 
ferred from  the  Lodge  here  below,  we  may  gain  admit- 
tance into  the  Sublime  ^odge  above,  there  to  meet  our 
departed  brother,  and  perfect  that  affection  which  had 
its  origin  on  earth," 


INTl    ^DUCTION.  Xlll 

FROM  THE  EULOGY  ON  WASHINGTON. 

**  His  administration   was  a  satire  on  those  who  are 
born  to  rule.     ^Making  the  general  good  the  sole  object 
of  his  pursuit,  and  carefully  distinguishing  the  atten- 
tion which  was  due  from  him  as  an  individual  to  the 
claims  of  relation  and  friendship  from  the  duties  he 
owed  to  the  pul)lic,  he  never  yielded  to  th.e  iniluence 
of  private  partiality,  nor  stooped  to  the  low  policy  of 
aggrandizing   his   family   by   the   gifts   of  office.      He 
bestowed  employments  on    those   only  who  added   to 
integrity   the   qualities    necessary   to    discharge    them. 
Patient  in  investigation  and  cautious  in  research,  he 
formed  his  resolutions  with  deliberation,  and  executed 
them   with  decision.     Conscious  of  the   purity  of  his 
motives,  and  satisfied  with  the  propriety  of  his  deter- 
minations, —  daily  estimating  also  the  sacred  duty  of 
maintaining  the  constitutional  rights  of  his  office, — he 
was  not  to  be  soothed  into  dishonorable  compliance  by 
the   blandishments  of  flattery,   nor   diverted  from   his 
purposes  by  the   terror   of  numbers   or   the   imposing 
weight  of  public  character.     When  a  revolution,  unpre- 
cedented in  its  kind,  had  involved  the  European  world 
in  confusion,  and  the  flame  of  war  was  spreading  into 
other    quarters    of    the   globe,   neither    the    insidious 
attempts  of  the   emissaries  of  France,  nor  the  treach- 
erous arts  of  her  American  adherents,  could  induce  him 
to  hazard  our  quiet.     Though  himself  a  soldier,  and 
equal  to  the  emergencies  of  war,  he  perceived  not  only 
the  true  interests  of  his  country,  but  justice  and  human- 
ity, enjoined  a    continuance   of  peace.     He   therefore 
wisely  adjusted   the   misunderstandings  which   threat- 
ened our  tranquillity,  and  resolved  on  a  strict  neutral- 


XIV  I^'TRODUCTION. 

ity.  Our  own  experience,  and  the  events  which  have 
since  transpired  in  other  countries,  have  fully  justified 
the  measure.  Yet,  strange  to  tell,  disappointed  faction, 
despairing  of  success  in  an  impeachment  of  his  discern- 
ment or  understanding,  has  dared  here  to  arraign  the 
purity  of  his  motives.  Circumstances  seem  to  have 
placed  him  beyond  the  reach  of  suspicion.  His  wealth 
was  more  than  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  of  splendid 
enjo3"ment ;  he  had  no  posterity  to  inherit  hereditary 
honors ;  and  he  was  surely  too  wise  not  to  know  that  a 
crown  would  tarnish  his  glory,  —  that  his  own  reputa- 
tion was  inseparably  connected  with  the  prosperity  of 
his  country,  —  that  his  fame  would  mount  no  higher 
than  her  eagle  could  soar.  What  more  than  he  pos- 
sessed could  ambition  pant  for  ?  What  further  had 
the  world  to  bestow?" 

While  Free  Masonry  was  in  its  palmy  state  in 
New  England,  Mr.  Bigelovv  presided  for  two  tri- 
ennial terms  over  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  in  that  capacity,  with  a  splendid  escort  of 
craftsmen,  in  1808  made  a  journey  to  Portland,  to 
install  the  officers  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Maine. 
He  early  entered  the  Legislature  of  the  Common- 
wealth, and  was  elected  to  a  seat  either  in  the 
Senate  or  House  of  Representatives,  for  a  long 
series  of  years. 

In  1802,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Council.  In  1805,  he  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the 
House ;  and  for  eleven  years  —  eight  of  them  in 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

succession  —  presided  over  this  branch  of  the  leg- 
islative department  with  signal  ability  and  popu- 
larity.* 

Entering  warmly  into  the  politics  of  the  times, 

and  entertaining  the  views  of  the  opponents  of  the 
policy  and  measures  of  the  General  Government, 
he  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Federal  party, 
and  in  December,  1814,  was  a  delegate  from 
Massachusetts  to  attend  the  Hartford  Convention, 
with  his  colleagues,  George  Cabot,  Harrison  Gray 
Otis,  and  William  Prescott.f  In  1820,  he  was 
again  a  member  of  the  Council ;  but  before  his 
term  had  expired  he  died  of  a  typhus  fever,  at 
Medford,  May  18,  1821. 

Mr.    Bigelow  was   endowed  with   ready  appre- 

*  When  Mr.  Bigelow  became  Speaker  of  the  House,  then  number- 
ing seven  hundred  members,  it  is  said  that  he  could  call  them  all  by 
name  on  the  third  day  after  they  had  assembled. 

f  Perhaps  at  no  time  in  our  history  has  party  spirit  run  so  high  as 
during  the  war  of  U'd2-15.  Unsparing  censure  and  abuse  were 
heaped  upon  the  members  of  this  famous  assembly.  Impartial  judg- 
ment at  this  day  will  probably  concede  to  the  able  and  distinguished 
men  who  composed  it  honest  and  patriotic  purposes,  however  mistaken 
in  their  political  views.  A  well-known  writer  says:  **That  these 
men  .  .  .  acted  from  pure  motives,  the  candid  of  their  political  oppo- 
nents did  not  dispute.  That  they  were  fallible,  their  friends  did  not 
deny,  .  .  .  yet  their  views  were  much  mitirepresented  for  party  pur- 
poses." And  of  the  Convention :  "  It  was  charged  with  plotting 
against  the  Union ;  but  there  was  nothing  in  the  .  .  .  resolves  pre- 
paratory to  the  Convention,  nor  in  their  proceedings  nor  report,  which 
was  in  favor  of  a  separation  of  the  United  States  from  the  Union,  nor 
which  could  be  fairly  construed  as  implying  or  intimating  such  a 
measure." 


XVI  INTliODUCTlON. 

hension  and  an  active  and  inquisitive  mind.  Gath- 
ering knowledge  with  facility,  exact  method  and 
systematic  industry  ^  nabled  him  to  compass  a  vast 
amount  of  reading.  Exploring  almost  every 
branch  of  liberal  science,  he  was  peculiarly  con- 
versant with  Theology,  attaining  sufficient  profi- 
ciency in  Hebrew  to  read  the  Old  Testament 
in  the  original  tongue.  His  retentive  memory, 
varied  information,  and  great  conversational  nowers, 
joined  to  a  vein  of  sparkling  humor,  eminently 
fitted  him  fur  social  intercourse.  There  are  those 
still  living  who  may  be  able  to  repeat  a  few  of 
his  brilliant  sayings  and  admirable  repartee,  but 
this  is  all  that  can  now  be  related  of  his  wit,  which 
ever  shone  at  the  bar,  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
and  at  the  festive  board.  He  had  many  friends, 
and  his  society  was  grateful  and  endeared  to  all 
who  knew  him. 

Mr.  Bigelow  was  a  member  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  Yice-President 
of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society.  He  had 
strong  rural  tastes,  and  was  active  in  establishing 
and  conducting  the  Association  of  the  Middlesex 
Husbandmen.  He  took  great  delight  in  horticul- 
ture, and  may  claim  with  others  the  merit  of  stimu- 
lating a  taste  which  is  now  associated  no  less  with 
science  than  with  pleasure.     His  grounds  on  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

banks  of  the  Mystic  were  famous  for  their  beauty 
at  that  day,  and  long  continued  to  be  a  conspicuous 
ornament  of  the  town  of  Medford.* 

His  genial  nature  and  attractive  social  qualities 
made  his  house  the  seat  of  hospitality.  Graced  by 
the  exercise  of  domestic  virtues,  and  the  scrupu- 
lous observance  of  religious  duties,  his  private  life 
was  as  excellent  as  his  public  career  was  useful 
and  honorable.  lie  married,  Sept.  30,  1791,  Lucy, 
the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Oliver  Prescott,  for 
many  years  Judge  of  Probate  for  Middlesex  County. 
They  had  a  numerous  family.  His  wife  survived 
him  thirty-one  years,  and  died  Dec.  15,  1852. 
She  retained  her  youthful  freshness  and  beauty,  in 
a  remarkable  degree,  to  an  advanced  age. 

In  person,  Mr.  Bigelow  was  tall  and  slender, 
but  well  proportioned.     He  had  a  dark  complex- 

*  In  early  manhood,  while  reading  law  in  Worcester,  the  garden 
plot  around  ihe  family  homestead  was  embellished  by  him  with  such 
Howers  and  ])lants  as  could  be  obtained  at  tliat  period.  The  same 
passion  he  naturally  carried  with  him  to  Groton  ;  and  there,  on  taking 
possession  of  his  house  and  farm,  a  well-ihosen  spot  of  ground  was 
tastefully  laid  out,  both  for  family  uses  and  for  pleasing  and  orna- 
mental efl'eets.  His  orchard,  in  connection  with  the  garden,  contained 
not  only  the  common,  but  the  rare  varieties  of  fruit  trees,  making  it 
altogether  the  best  of  the  village  and  neighborhood.  After  his  re- 
moval to  iMedford,  in  procuring  trees  he  was  fortunate  in  having  the 
assistance  of  his  friend  and  olu-tiine  client,  the  elder  Theodore  Ly- 
man, whose  tastes  were  congenial  with  his  own,  and  who  often  sent 
from  his  Waltham  nurseries  standard  stock  trees,  with  a  man  to  plant 
them,  and  furnished  him  with  the  first  espalier  which  covered  his  fruit 
wall. 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION. 

ion,  black  hair,  and  large,  penetrating  gray  eyes. 
He  was  a  man  of  dignified  appearance,  of  erect 
and  graceful  carriage,  and  of  very  courteous  man- 
ners. In  an  obituary  notice,  an  intimate  friend 
and  contemporary*  says  of  him,  "To  all  in  any 
degree  acquainted  with  the  history  of  this  Com- 
monwealth for  the  last  thirty  years,  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  say  any  thing  of  the  eminent  stations  and 
pre-eminent  services  sustained  and  performed  by 
him.  .  .  .  Amply  as  this  distinguished  statesman 
and  patriot  filled  his  public  offices,  he  was  equally 
pre-eminent  for  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties  of 
a  provident  father,  a  kind  husband,  a  hospitable 
neighbor,  a  liberal  and  enlightened  Christian,  a 
constant  and  sincere  friend."  Of  his  funeral,  the 
same  writer  says :  "  It  was  attended  at  Medford 
by  a  large  concourse  of  afflicted  and  mourning  rela- 
tives and  friends,  public  functionaries,  professional 
gentlemen  and  citizens,  although  it  was  not  in- 
tended that  the  funeral  should  be  a  public  one.  .  . 
The  pall  was  supported  by  His  Excellency  the 
Governor,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Judge  Ward,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  Samuel  P. 
Gardner,  Esq.  The  procession  was  long  and  sol- 
emn, and  never  was  there  an  occasion  when  more 

*  Major  Benjamin  Russell,  editor  of  the  "  Columbian  Centinel." 


IXTRODUCTIOX.  Xix 

genuine  tears  of  sorrow  were  mingled  with  the  con- 
solation which  the  lives  of  the  good  and  wise  are 
calculated  to  aflford." 

The  following  notice  appears  on  the  records  of 
the  Suffolk  Bar :  — 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Suffolk  Bar,  it  was 

"  Voted,  Tliat  it  be  recommended  to  the  members  of 
the  Bar  to  wear  crape  for  the  period  of  thirty  days,  as 
a  testimony  of  respect  for  the  learning,  talents,  and  vir- 
tues of  their  late  associate,  Hon.  Timothy  Bigelow. 

"  W.  J.  Spooner, 

"  Secretary. ^^ 

In  the  preceding  pages,  with  but  scanty  mate- 
rials at  my  command,  I  have  been  unable  to  give 
more  than  a  brief  outline  of  Mr.  Bigelow's  career. 
It  has  been  observed  that   it   is    "among  written 
memorials  that  we  must   look  for   those  traits  of 
talent  and  virtue  which  fix  the  destiny  of  character, 
and  by  which   the  false  is   detected  and  the  true 
established."     Mr.  Bigelow  has  left  iew  memorials 
of  this  class;  yet  those   few,  by  their  fervid  elo- 
quence and  philosophic  spirit,  cause    regret  that 
more  of  his  addresses,   and  some  of  his  forensic 
arguments  and  political  speeches  (for  of  these  lat- 
ter  none    remain)   had   not  been  preserved.     But 
they  have  been  scattered  to  the  winds;   and  his 


XX  INTRODUCTION. 

reputation  mainly  depends  on  personal  recollec- 
tions, which  are  fast  fading  away.  I  indulge  the 
hope,  therefore,  that  this  imperfect  sketch  of  his 
life  may  serve  to  rescue  his  name  and  fame  —  at 
least  for  his  descendants  —  from  entire  ohlivion. 

The  Journal  is  printed  from  the  manuscript, 
unchanged  with  the  exception  of  the  spelling, 
which  I  have  modernized,  when  necessary.  I  have 
also  supplied  trivial  omissions,  and  corrected  occa- 
sional carelessness  in  composition,  incidental  to 
a  journal  written  while  travelling,  and  which  the 
author  had  probably  neither  leisure  nor  inclination 
to  correct  after  his  return.  In  general,  however, 
he  will  be  found  uncommonly  accurate  in  his  state- 
ments,—  which  I  have  verified  by  consulting  con- 
temporaneous accounts  of  the  same  region,  —  as  he 
is  happy  in  his  choice  of  language  and  animated  in 
his  style. 

I  am  indebted  to  my  kinsman,  Dr.  Samuel  A. 
Green,  for  constant  and  efficient  interest  in  the 
revision   of  the  Journal. 

A.  L. 

Boston,  June  10,  1876. 


BIGELOWS    JOURNAL 


.     OF    A 


TOUll  TO  THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA 


J  O  U  R  N  A  L. 


IN  pursuance  of  an  intention  which  some  of  us  had 
entertained  for  many  years,  Timothy  Williams,  Esq., 
Mr.  Samuel  P.  Gardner,  Major  John  Williams,  Mr. 
Nathaniel  C.  Lee,  and  myself,  set  off  from  Boston  on 
the  eighth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  1805,  to  visit  the  cele- 
brated Falls  of  Niagara  ;  purposing,  however,  to  exam- 
ine all  the  natural  curiosities  to  be  met  with  in  or  near 
our  route,  which  should  not  occasion  too  great  a  diver- 
sion from  our  main  object,  to  return  home  by  the  way 
of  Montreal  and  Lake  Cham  plain. 

Our  first  stage  was  to  Wheeler's  tavern  in  Framing- 
ham,  twenty-three  miles  h-om  Boston,  to  dine.  This  is  a 
very  good  house  ;  both  Wheeler  and  his  wife  are  indus- 
trious and  obliging.  We  proceeded  next  to  Jennison's 
in  Worcester,  to  sleep,  nineteen  miles.  There  was  here 
a  gentle  shower  in  the  evening.  Jennison  himself  is 
coarse,  clownish,  and  stupid  ;  but  his  wife  is  active  and 
obliging,  and  it  is  entirely  owing  to  her  that  this  is  a 
pretty  good  house.  I  went  three  miles  further  myself, 
to  sleep  at  my  mother's,  in  the  Worcester  village. 


4  JOURNAL  OF   A 

July  9th.  To  TTobart's  in  Leicester,  to  breakfast,  nine 
miles.  This  is  a  tolerable  house.  Governor  Strong  and 
a  Miss  Allen,  who  was  going  with  him  to  visit  his  famil}'' 
at  Northampton,  breakfasted  here  also.  The  Governor, 
we  found,  would  have  stoj)ped  at  Jennison's  to  sleep  the 
night  before  :  but,  having  seen  us  stop  there,  he  had  pro- 
ceeded further,  and  slept  at  Johnson's,  near  the  court- 
house in  Worcester.  To  Hitchcock's  in  Brookficld,  to 
dine,  fifteen  miles.  Governor  Strong  had  set  out  from 
J^eicester  before  us  ;  but  we  had  passed  him  rather  rudely 
in  Spencer,  owing  to  the  thoughtlessness  of  our  driver. 
Having  slackened  our  pace  till  he  f.gain  overtook  us,  we 
made  the  best  apology  for  our  incivility  which  the  case 
admitted,  by  laying  the  blame  where  it  properly  be- 
longed. Our  apology  was  accepted.  Mr.  Dwight,  of 
Springfield,  met  us  at  Hitchcock's,  and  advised  us  to 
take  the  route  by  Springfield  to  Ballston.  We  satisfied 
ourselves,  however,  by  an  inspection  of  the  maps,  that 
we  should  make  an  angle  to  the  southward  from  a 
straight  line,  even  by  going  through  Northampton,  and 
that  the  evil  would  be  increased  by  going  through 
Springfield.  To  Mellin's  in  Belchertown,  to  sleep,  eigh- 
teen miles  ;  a  good  house.  Mellin  was  from  Sturbridge 
in  the  county  of  Worcester.  We  met  liere  with  a  gen- 
tleman horse-jockey,  from  Conway,  who  was  very  in- 
quisitive and  communicative,  and  assumed  the  direction 
of  the  conversation  ;  he  was  particularly  careful  to  men- 
tion the  familiarity  of  his  acquaintance  with  men  of  note. 

July  10th.  To  Northampton,  Clarke's,  to  dine,  fifteen 
miles  ;  a  very  good  house.  We  here  visited  a  warehouse 
stored  with  silkworms  just  beginning  to  spin  tlieir  jiods  ; 
from  the  worms  we  saw  it  was  expected  that  from  thirty 


""OUR   TO   NIAGARA    FALLS.  5 

to  forty  pounds  of  sewing-silk  would  be  manufactured, 
whicli  would  be  wortb  ten  dollars  per  pound.  We  vis- 
ited Governor  Strong  at  his  house,  wliere  we  were  very 
r  politely  received.  We  met  there  Mr.  Hinckley  and 
other  company. 

The  famous  tract  of  interval  in  this  town  called  the 
Great  IJainbow  is  not  within  sight  of  the  great  road,  as 
we  supposed,  but  is  situated  further  down  the  river,  and 
is  of  a  much  superior  (j^uality  to  that  through  which  the 
road  passes.  Connecticut  River  seldom  or  never  lower 
than  ulien  we  passed  it.  To  Bailey's  in  Chesterfield, 
fourteen  miles,  to  sleep  ;  a  good  house.  The  landlord 
heard  at  Hartford  tliat  we  should  be  at  his  house  this 
night,  and  had  therefore  rode  fifty  miles  in  the  after- 
noon and  evening,  to  be  at  home  to  attend  upon  us. 

July  11th.  To  Mills's  in  Worthington,  to  breakfast, 
seven  miles  ;  a  good  house,  uncommonly  neat.  Two 
miles  after  leaving  liailey's,  we  passed  Westford  River 
at  a  place  where  the  stream  has  forced  a  passage  through 
rocks  which  now  rise  many  feet  perpendicularly  on 
either  side.  Colonel  Woodbridge,  of  Worthington,  made 
us  a  visit  while  breakfast  was  preparing.  To  Merrick's 
in  Pittsfield,  twenty  miles,  to  dine  ;  this  is  an  ordi- 
nary house.  Called  on  John  C.  Williams,  Esq.  His 
accomplished  daughter  entertained  us  with  a  perform- 
ance on  the  piano-forte.  We  left  the  direct  road  to  New 
Lcibanon  Springs,  and  made  a  deviation  of  four  miles  to 
view  the  village  and  ob..erve  the  manners  of  the  Shakers, 
at  the  confines  of  Pittsfield  and  Hancock.  The  number 
here  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty ;  at  their  village  at 
New  Lebanon,  they  estimate  their  number  at  three  hun- 
dred. At  the  Hancock  village,  we  saw  Daniel  Goodrich, 


6  '    JOUKNAL   OF   A 

Jr.,  son  of  the  principal  overseer,  or  man  of  cane,  as 
they  call  him,  who  showed  us  their  garden,  where  we 
regaled  ourselves  with  currants  and  gooseberries  in  great 
abundance.  He  next  conducted  us  into  a  small,  neat 
house,  which  he  told  us  the  society  had  erected  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  and  entertaining  visitors,  and 
which  was  neatly  and  commodiously  fitted  up  for  that 
purpose,  being  even  furnished  with  beds.  Having*  re- 
freshed ourselves  with  a  draught  of  excellent  cider,  we 
took  our  leave. 

The  extent  of  the  Shakers'  lands  is  easily  ascertained 
by  the  most  transient  observer  ;  for  they  are  more  highly 
cultivated,  laid  out  with  more  taste  and  regularity,  and 
much  better  fenced  than  any  other  in  their  vicinity.  To 
the  New  Lebanon  Springs,  the  direct  course  from  Pitts- 
field  here  is  seven  miles. 

July  12th.  At  the  New  Lebanon  Springs,  made  trial 
of  the  water  for  bathing,  and  found  it  highly  grateful, 
beyond  comparison  the  most  so  of  any  which  either 
of  us  had  ever  experienced.  The  temperature  is  be- 
tween 72  and  73°  of  Fahrenheit.  A  copious  stream  runs 
through  the  bath  while  one  is  using  it,  so  that  you  not 
only  have  the  water  in  great  quantity,  but  it  is  continu- 
ally changing.  A  .saponaceous  quality  with  wliich  it 
seems  impregnated  leaves  the  skin  in  a  soft  vellum-like 
state,  particularly  favorable  to  insensible  perspiration. 
We  found  some  company  at  Hull's,  the  occupant  of 
the  house  of  entertainment  at  these  springs  ;  among 
others,  were  two  agreeable  young  ladies  from  New 
York,  daughters  of  Mr.  Jay,  the  late  Governor  of  that 
State.  The  accommodations  here  are,  upon  the  whole, 
pretty  good,  though  they  might  be  still  improved. 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  7 

At  half-past  nine  o'clock  this  morning,  left  Hull's,  and 
proceeded  for  Albany.  The  first  part  of  the  road  along 
the  Kiiiderhook  Creek  was  very  fine.  We  stopped  at 
Schern^erhorn's  in  Stephentovvn,  an  ordinary  house,  nine 
miles ;  the  mills  near  this  house,  by  giving  a  sprightli- 
ness  to  the  place,  are  its  chief  recommendation.  Amongst 
other  water-works,  we  here  observed  a  carding-machine. 
These  ingenious  contrivances  for  saving  labor  have  sur- 
prisingly multiplied  in  the  country  of  late.  I  have 
found  them  at  all  favorable  spots,  from  the  further  shore 
of  the  Winnipiseogee  to  the  North  River.  The  growth 
of  timber  in  this  neighborhood  is  much  the  same  as 
in  the  county  of  Worcester ;  we  saw  no  cliestnut-trees 
after  leaving  Connecticut  River  till  we  reached  Pittsfield  ; 
even  here,  they  have  not  recovered  their  full  size,  but 
grow  rather  in  a  resemblance  to  apple-trees.  To 
Strong's  in  Schodack,  or  Phillipstown,  or  Union,  or  New 
Store,  seven  miles,  to  dine  ;  a  pretty  good  house.  Met 
here  with  a  Mr.  Jonathan  Iloag,  a  zealous  Federalist, 
who  assured  us  that  within  two  years  Federalism  would 
again  come  in  fashion ;  he  related  to  us  the  circum- 
stances of  his  first  settling  in  this  place  in  1775.  It  was 
then  in  a  state  of  nature  ;  now  he  informed  us  he  had 
two  or  three  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  growing  in  sight, 
as  well  as  prodigious  (quantities  of  hay.  He  owns  most 
of  the  buildings  m  the  village,  and  is  not  only  a  wealthy, 
but  a  liberal  and  frank  man.  A  few  thousand  such 
would  renovate  good  politics  through  the  Union.  Val- 
letjeskill  is  the  stream  that  turns  Hoag's  mills.  Mr. 
Charles  Taylor,  of  Boston,  and  his  father,  came  up  in  the 
stage,  and  dined  with  us  at  this  house.  To  (Iregory's 
in  Albany,  twelve  miles ;  an  excellent  house.    The  latter 


8  JOURNAL  OF   A 

part  of  the  road  to  this  place  is  undulating,  and  not  a 
little  dangerous  for  want  of  railing,  as  the  sides  of  the 
ground  have  been  raised  across  valleys.  Towards  even- 
uig,  a  shower  to  the  northward,  at  no  great  distance, 
seemed  to  promise  us  relief  from  the  heat  and  dust  with 
which  we  had  been  greatly  oppressed  this  day  ;  but  it 
passed  off  without  affording  us  the  desired  refreshment, 
and  we  afterwards  found  that  it  had  watered  but  a 
narrow  tract  of  country,  although  the  rain  was  copious 
where  it  fell. 

I  was  much  gratified  with  the  sight  of  the  Pludson, 
which  I  had  never  seen  before.  It  was  more  respectable 
in  magnitude  than  we  had  anticipated.  It  is  amusing 
in  travelling  tlius  into  the  interior  country,  where  one 
seems  to  be  embosomed  in  the  woods,  to  come  forth  at 
once  into  a  view  of  this  noble  stream,  and  to  see  the 
swelling  canvas  of  commerce  gliding  among  the  forest 
trees.  The  Hudson  seems  to  be  equally  useful  by  af- 
fording an  easy  and  excellent  communication  with  the 
ocean,  and  by  annually  overflowing,  and  thereby  fertil 
izing  its  extensive  shores.  The  ferry  to  Albany  might 
be  very  commodious ;  but  a  dispute  between  the  corpo- 
ration of  that  city  and  the  Patroon,  so  called,  occasions 
much  embarrassment  and  inconvenience  to  travellers. 

July  13th.  Viewed  the  place,  and  found  many  objects 
to  excite  attention,  and  gratify  the  curiosity  of  a  man 
who  had  never  before  been  out  of  New  England.  The 
old  Dutch  church  and  many  other  ancient  Dutch  build- 
ings, in  the  Gothic  style,  are  striking  monuments  of  the 
taste  of  the  age  and  nation  of  the  first  settlers  here. 
But  Dutch  fashions  and  language,  and  even  Dutch  inhab- 
itants, seem  to  be  fast  wearing  out.     All  the  new  build- 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  9 

ings  are  on  an  improved  construction,  and  one  would 
now  almost  as  soon  tliink  of  employing  a  Dutch  draw- 
incr-master  here,  as  a  Dutcli  architect.  The  new  Dutch 
cliurcli  is  a  liandsome  building  ;  it  is  ornamented  in  front 
witli  two  towers  or  balconies,  which  enclose  a  portico 
crow  ned  with  a  pediment  supported  by  four  large  Doric 
pillars.  There  is  but  little  ornament  to  be  seen  within, 
except  about  the  pulpit ;  the  stairway  leading  to  that 
is  supported  by  delicate  pillars  in  two  spiral  rows,  and 
has  on  either  side  a  light  balustrade  or  railing :  some 
fancy  is  also  displayed  in  the  open  iron-work  over  the 
sounding-board.  We  took  a  carriage  here,  and  made  an 
excursion  to  the  Cohoes  Falls,  in  the  Mohawk  River, 
somewhat  less  than  ten  miles  from  Albany.  We  judged 
the  width  of  the  river  at  the  falls  to  be  one  thousand 
feet ;  there  was  not  water  enough  to  cover  the  whole 

I  extent.  The  principal  current  is  near  the  middle  of  the 
bed,  where  there  is  a  horseshoe  or  crescent-like  excava- 
tion in  the  rock,  with  the  convex  part  projecting  up 
stream.  The  falls  are  probably  further  up  the  river  now 
than  heretofore,  because  the  banks  for  a  considerable 
distance  below  are  nearly  perpendicular,  and  entirely 
of  rock ;  the  rock  is  of  a  hard  slate  kind,  and  it  has  a 
l)eculiiir  curl  in  the  grain,  which  gives  it  the  appearance 
of  petrified  wood ;  the  strata  of  the  slate,  in  many 
places,  appeared  to  be  much  inclined  to  the  plane  of  the 
horizon,  and  even  ajiproached  a  perpendicular  position. 
In  approaching  near  the  precipice  which  constitutes  the 
fall,  —  to  the  very  edge  of  which,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of 
water,  we  could  walk  dry-shod  near  half  the  way  across, — 
there  were  discernible  several  transverse  fissures  in  the 
rock,  indicating  that  large  masses  of  it,  at  no  great  dis- 


10  JOURNAL  OF  A 

tance  of  time  hence,  will  fall.  Excavations  are  also 
made  near  the  precipice,  by  small  stones  obtaining  a 
lodgement  on  the  bed-stone,  and  then  wearing  it  away 
by  a  rotatory  motion  occasioned  by  the  current :  some  of 
these  excavations  are  already  large  caverns,  and  must  at 
some  future  time  occasion  a  further  divulsion  of  the  rock  ; 
such  appearances  are  common  at  most  waterfalls.  The 
height  of  the  Cohoes  Falls  is  computed  to  be  about  seventy 
feet.  The  descent  is  nearly  perpendicular.  The  dark 
color  of  the  rock  forms  a  very  striking  contrast  with  the 
milky  whiteness  of  the  falling  water. 

Nothing  here  struck  us  with  more  surprise  than  the 
contemptible  appearance  of  the  river  for  several  rods 
below  the  cascade.  At  Schenectady,  a  few  miles  above, 
it  is  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  rods  wide ;  here  every 
drop  of  water  passes  through  a  channel  in  the  rock,  not 
more  than  eighteen  feet  wide. 

We  went  to  Waterford  to  dine.  This  place  is  situ- 
ated at  the  confluence  of  the  Hudson  with  the  upper 
mouth  of  the  Mohawk,  and  from  the  shape  of  the  land 
occasioned  by  this  confluence  is  called  Half- Moon  point. 
There  is  another  mouth  of  the  Mohawk  about  a  mile 
further  down,  and  another  about  two  miles  more  below 
that ;  these  mouths,  together  with  the  Hudson,  form 
therefore  two  islands,  which  are  of  considerable  extent. 
There  is  at  Waterford  a  bridge  over  the  Hudson,  the 
first  to  be  met  with  in  passing  up  that  river.  It  is  above 
the  junctioa  with  the  Mohawk,  and  the  rapids  stop  all 
navigation  from  there,  about  half  a  mile  below  it.  One 
is  a  little  disappointed  in  not  finding  more  water  in  the 
Hudson  at  this  place  ;  it  is  but  ten  miles  above  Albany, 
where  it  is  a  noble  stream.     The  difference,  however, 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  11 

must  be  occasioned  in  a  great  measure  by  the  tide's  ris- 
ing below,  but  which  never  reaches  the  bridge ;  it  rose 
two  and  a  half  feet  this  day  at  Troy.  Demarest's  Hotel, 
at  Waterford,  an  excellent  house.  We  met  here  with 
Mr.  Penniraan,  a  bookseller  at  Troy ;  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  me,  and  insisted  on  returning  with  us 
immediately  to  Troy,  although  he  had  just  come  from 
there  with  another  gentleman,  Mr.  Edes,  to  visit  the 
Cohoes.  Mr.  Penniman's  store  is  well  furnished  with 
books,  and  he  exhibited  to  us  some  specimens  of  his  own 
printing  and  binding,  which  do  credit  to  our  country. 
Mr.  Edes  had  just  been  fitting  up  here  a  ruling-machine 
of  his  own  invention,  for  which  he  has  a  patent.  Mr. 
Penniman  put  it  in  operation  for  our  amusement ;  we 
thought  it  a  ver}^  ingenious  contrivance,  and  that  it 
fully  answered  the  U;>e  for  which  it  was  intended. 

The  passage  of  the  river  by  the  ferry  at  Troy  was  much 
more  agreeable  to  us  than  that  near  Albany,  because 
we  could  here  land  on  dry  ground,  and  not  be  obliged 
to  wade  through  the  mud  on  the  shore,  as  we  had  been 
there.  Our  whole  route  this  day,  out  and  back,  twenty- 
three  miles.  The  weather  this  day  was  everywhere  ex- 
tremel}^  hot ;  but  H  the  upper  chamber  at  Albany,  where 
we  slept,  it  was  almost  insupportable,  even  in  the  night. 
The  thermometer  stood  at  84°  in  our  chamber  window, 
at  daylight. 

Mr.  Lee  now  first  communicated  his  intention  not 
to  proceed  with  us  any  further.  We  therefore  adjusted 
our  accounts  with  him,  dismissed  our  Boston  carriage, 
and  engaged  an  extra  stage  carriage  to  transport  the 
remainder  of  the  party  to  Ballston  Springs  to-morrow. 

J  uly  14th.    We  proceeded  to  Schenectady  to  breakfast, 


12  JOURNAL  OF  A 

fifteen  miles,  Beals's  tavern  ;  a  good  house.  A  new 
turnpike  is  making  from  Albany  to  this  place  ;  it  is  con- 
structed in  a  very  durable  manner,  with  a  pavement 
covered  with  hard  gravel.  That  part  which  is  completed 
is  now  an  excellent  road  ;  the  remainder  will  soon  be 
equally  good.  It  was  not  disagreeable  to  us  to  be  in- 
formed that  this  road,  and  indeed  all  the  other  turn- 
pikes, and  most  other  recent  works  which  we  met  with, 
which  required  uncommon  ingenuity  or  labor,  were  con- 
structed by  Yankees. 

Schenectady  seems  not  to  be  a  word  fitted  to  common 
organs  of  speech.  We  heard  it  pronounced  Snacketady, 
Snackedy,  Ksnackidy,  Ksnactady,  Snackendy,  and 
Snaokady,  whicli  last  is  much  the  most  common.  To 
Ballston,  Bromeling's,  sixteen  miles ;  a  most  exctllent 
house.  We  found  here  about  forty  guests,  but  under- 
stood there  were  upwards  of  two  hundred  at  Aldrich's, 
McMasters's,  and  the  other  boarding-houses  near. 
Bromeling  himself  has  accommodations  in  the  first 
style  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons. 

We  met  with  but  few  people  here  from  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  Henry  Higginson  and  his  Avife,  Mr.  Bingham,  the 
bookseller,  and  liis  family,  were  all  we  knew.  The 
mineral  water  was  not  agreeable  to  us  all  upon  the  first 
experiment ;  but  with  others,  and  myself  in  particular, 
it  was  otherwise.  It  is  remarkably  clear  and  transi)ar- 
ent ;  the  fixed  air,  which  is  continually  escaping  from  it, 
gives  it  a  sparkling  appearance,  and  a  lively  and  full  taste, 
not  unlike  to  that  of  brisk  porter  or  champagne  wine, 
while  one  is  actually  drinking.  After  the  draught  is  fin- 
ished, the  chalybeate  taste  prevails.  The  temperature  is 
that  of  common  well  water,  from  50  to  52°  of  Fahren- 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  13 

heit.    By  pouring  the  water  from  one  vessel  to  another 
till  the  fixed  air  is  all  dislodged,  it  loses  its  transparency, 
and  becomes  a  smoky  color  and  nauseous  to  the  taste. 
A  small  quantity  of  brandy  mixed  with  it,  when  first 
taken  from  the  fountain,  communicates  to  it  an   opaque 
black  color  ;  a  deposit  is  made  in  a  few  hours  of  a  black 
sediment,  and  the  water  is  left  clear  again,  but  bereft  of 
all  its  good  qualities.     Some   springs,  which  fur  many 
years  have  afforded  the  water  in  perfection,' have,  with- 
out any  apparent  cause,  lost  their  distinguishing  proper- 
ties, while  others  have  as  unexpectedly  acquired  them  ; 
some  springs  also,  which  possess  these  properties,  are 
now  found  within  a  few  feet  of  springs  and  streams  of 
common  water.     The  quantity  of    mineral  water  that 
may  be  drank  Avith  impunity,  and  perhaps  with  advan- 
tage, is  surprising  ;  it  is  not  uncommon  for  some  persons 
to  drink  four  or  five  gallons  in  a  day.     There  is  danger, 
however,  by  a  too  free  use  of  it  at  first,  incurring  a  di- 
arrha^a.     Using  a  proper  caution  in  this  respect,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  use  of  it  may  1     advantageous 
to  languid  and  feeble  stomachs,  that  it  promotes  diges- 
tion and  exhilarates  the  spirits.     Sulphur  is  to  be  found 
on  the  surface  of  the  earth  near  the  springs,  in  a  state 
almost  pure  ;  and,  where  a  fire  has  run  over  some  ground 
in  the  vicinity,  it  affords  a  smell  like  that  of  gunpowder. 
July  15th.    We  took  a  carriage,  together  with  Mr.  Hig- 
ginson  and  his  wife,  and  went  up  to  Saratoga  Springs, 
out  and  home  twenty  miles.    We  drank  of  Congress, 
Columbia,  Washington,  and  Great  Rock  springs.     The 
water  at  all  these  springs  is  much  the  same  as  at  Ball- 
ston;  the  principal  difference  amongst  them  all  arises 
from  the  different  degrees  with  which  they  are  impreg- 


14  JOURNAL  OF  A 

nated  with  their  peculiar  mineral  properties.  The  great 
rock  itself  is  a  curiosity ;  it  is  of  lime,  whicli  is  the  pre- 
v.ailing  stone  in  all  this  region.  The  rock  was  probably 
formed  by  the  concretion  of  the  lime  contained  in  the 
water.  This  supposition  is  the  only  satisfactory  way  to 
account  for  the  extraordinary  aperture  through  it ;  for 
that  this  aperture  is  natural,  the  irregularities  of  its 
shape  leave  very  little  doubt.  The  population  of  Ball- 
ston  has  wonderfully  increased  within  a  few  years. 
There  are  already  in  it  four  meeting  houses,  a  court-house, 
and  a  considerable  population,  beside  the  village  w  hich 
has  grown  up  about  the  springs,  and  which  can  afford 
accommodations  for  near  one  thousand  guests. 

The  soil  in  thu  neighborhood  appears  to  be  good, 
great  quantities  of  grain  and  grass  are  growing  upon  it, 
and  the  young  orchards  everywhere  to  be  seen  appear 
to  thrive.  When  the  stumps  and  dead  trees  which  now 
encumber  every  field  shall  be  cleared  off,  the  prospect  in 
this  vicinity  will  be  agreeable,  if  not  beautiful.  The  soil 
in  and  about  Saratoga  is  principall}'-  pine  plain,  light  and 
saud^^  There  is  a  small  village  with  pretty  accommoda- 
ticms  for  guests  near  the  Great  Rock  spring;  but  the 
principal  resort  is  at  Ballston.  Were  it  not  for  that  place, 
Saratoga  would  become  of  much  more  importance  tlian 
it  ever  can  be  while  the  Ballston  waters  retain  their 
properties.  The  resemblance  in  the  qualities  of  the  water 
at  both  places  renders  it  probable  that  all  the  intermediate 
country  is  impregnated  with  them,  and  thus  we  can  con- 
ceive how  so  large  and  constant  a  waste  can  be  supplied 
without  a  perceptible  diminution, 

July  16th.  Returned  to  Schenectady.  We  passed  the 
Kayad cross  Creek  between  Ballston  and  Schenectady, 


TOUR   TO  NIAGAIIA   FALLS.  15 

as  also  between  Ballston  and  Saratoga.  Just  as  we 
were  leaving  J5ronieling's,  Messrs.  Harrison,  (Jibbs,  and 
others,  arrived  there  from  South  Carolina,  and  informed 
us  that  in  a  day  or  two  they  should  follow  us  to  Ni- 
agara. 

An    unfortunate   man   at  Bromeling's  occasioned  no 
small  uneasiness  among  the  guests  there,  from  an  appre- 
hension  that   he    had   upon  him   the  elephantiasis,   or 
some  such  infectious  disease.     Major  Williams,  who  had 
seen   the  elephantiasis,  did  not  hesitate  to  pronounce 
this  man's  disorder  to  be  of  that  kind.     Certain  it  is  his 
appearance  was  frightful,  both  from  a  dark,  livid,  and 
oloated  appearance  of  his  skin,  and  the  peculiar  wild 
and  lion-like  glare  of  his  eyes,  insomuch  that  all  the 
company  at  the  house  had  inquired  out  and  carefully 
avoided  the  bath  which  he  used,  gave  directions  that 
their  clothes  should  not  be  washed  at  the  same  time 
with  his,  and  were  even  solicitous,  at  table  or  elsewhere, 
not  to  be  to  leeward  of  him   or  very  near  him.     The' 
reputation  of  the  house,  was  in  danger,  and  it  was  re- 
ported at  the  other  boarding-houses  in  the  neighborhood 
that  Bromeling  had  a  guest  who  was  afflicted  with  a 
highly  infectious  and  dangerous  disease.     At  the  request 
of  many  of  the  guests.  Dr.  Stewart,  of  Baltimore,  rep- 
resented to  Bromeling  their  uneasiness  with  this  man's 
company.     Bromeling  thereupon  desired  him  to  leave 
his  house  immediately,  which  he  accordingly  prepared 
forthwith  to  do  ;  not,  however,  without  expressing  great 
offence  that  any  one  should  suppose  his  disease  infectious, 
which  he  affirmed  to  be  false.     He  said  that  his  disorder 
was  only  a  want  of  free  circulation  of  the  blood  through 
the  proper  vessels  ;  but  why  may  not  such  a  disease  be 


16  JOURNAL   OF  A 

infectious?  A  ^Ir.  Setinuiu  of  Xew  York,  whom  we 
met  at  the  sprino^s,  we  found  a  very  companionable, 
agreeable,  and  intelligent  man. 

Tlie  Mohawk  lUver  at  Schenectady  is  about  the  size 
of  the  Merrimack  at  Salisbury,  in  New  Hampshire.  The 
temperature  of  the  w^ater  at  the  ferry  where  we  passed 
it,  both  at  the  sides  and  in  the  middle  of  the  stream, 
we  found  to  be  80^  of  Fahrenheit. 

Schenectady  is  a  consideral)le  pi.,  e,  containing  about 
three  or  four  thousand  inhabitants,  a  college,  several 
houses  of  public  Avorship,  &c.  There  is  here  one  stee- 
ple, which  considerably  resenddes  that  in  Charlestown, 
INIassachusetts,  near  the  bridge.  Tliis  place  is  said  to 
have  been  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Mohawk  Indians,  and 
a  spot  is  shown  near  the  town,  where  many  hundred 
Mohawk  warriors  usually  resided.  The  situation  is 
pleasant  in  itself,  and  probably  from  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  in  its  neighborhood  must  formerly  have  abounded 
with  game. 

We  slept  at  Reals's.  July  17th,  we  took  the  western 
stage  in  company  with  a  ]\Ir.  Row,  a  gentleman  from 
Virginia,  who  was  about  to  engage  in  trade  at  Geneva, 
on  the  Seneca  Lake.  We  crossed  over  to  the  north 
side  of  the  Mohawk  soon  after  setting  out,  to  Schwartz's 
(still  in  Schenectady),  a  poor  house,  seven  miles  ;  thence 
to  Pride's  in  Amsterdam,  nine  miles.  Pride's  is  a  hand- 
some limestone  house,  built  about  fifty  years  since,  as 
we  were  informed,  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  for  his  son- 
in-laws  Guy  Johnson.  Although  this  house  was  de- 
signed for  a  baronet's  palace,  it  is  now  improved  as  a 
very  ordinary  tavern.  A  peculiar  kind  of  bush  or 
acacia  tree  grows  in  this  neighborhood. 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  17 

To  Abel's  in  Amsterdam,  situated  on  Trapp's  Hill, 
opposite  to  the  mouth  of  Schoharie  River  and  the  old 
Fort  Hunter,  to  dine.     The  prospect  to  the  south-west 
is  extensive  and  Tomantic,  exhibits  an  agrpeable  mixt- 
ure of  hills  and  plains,  diversified  with  extensive  for- 
ests almost  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  cultivated  fields 
scarce  less  extensive,  now  covered  with  a  rich  harvest 
of  ripening   wheat.     The   prospect  was   the   principal 
tiling  which  we  found  in  this  place  to  recommend  it. 
The  tavern  is  a  poor  one,  and  our  dinner  of  course  was 
miserable.     Four  miles  to  Shepard's,  in  Canajoharie,  tc 
sleep.     Seventeen  miles  in  this  stage,  we  passed  a  re- 
.markable  precipice  terminating  in  a  promontory,  which 
approaches  almost  to  the  river,  called  St.  Anthony's 
Nose.     The  country  on  each  side  of  the  river  is  gen- 
erally mountainous,  and  in  some  places  there  is  hardly 
space  between  the  cliffs  and  the  water  sufficient  for  a 
road.     At  Shepard's  is  a  new  wooden  bridge  over  the 
Mohawk,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  consisting  of 
a  single  arch.     It  is  already  ruinous  and  considerably 
bent,  and  seems  very  likely  to  fall  soon.     We  thought 
it  not  impossible  that  it  might  fall  while  we  were  on  it. 
John  Nazro,  formerly  of  Worcester,  trades  about  half 
a  mile  from  this  bridge,  on  the  southerly  side  of  the 
river.     We  saw  near  his  house  a  field  of  Palma  Christi, 
which  we  were  told  he  was  cultivating  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing  castor  oil.     The  Mohawk  in  many 
places  was  shoal,  and  interrupted  with  so  many  islands 
and  sand-banks  that  we  were  often  at  a  loss  to  conceive 
how  loaded  boats  could  pass,  and  yet  we  saw  several 
going  up-stream  with  heavy  loads. 

Shepard  would  keep  a  good  tavern,  if  his  wife  was  as 

3 


18  JOURNAL  OF  A 

attentive,  neat,  and  active  as  he  is.  The  reverse,  how- 
ever, is  the  case.  He  is  even  obliged  to  do  her  duty  as 
well  as  his  own.  As  might  be  expected,  therefore,  we 
found  the  beds  preoccupied  by  domestic  inhabitants, 
who  threatened  us  with  a  bloody  reception  if  we  at- 
tempted to  repose  there.  We  declined  the  combat,  and 
preferred  sleeping  on  the  floor.  We  rose  next  morning 
much  more  refreshed  than  our  accommodations  had 
given  us  reason  to  expect. 

July  18th.  To  Carr's  at  Little  Falls,  to  breakfast, 
twenty  miles ;  a  very  good  house.  In  this  stage,  we 
passed  the  East  Canada  Creek.  Observed  for  the  very 
first  time  the  cypress-tree.  The  gloomy,  melancholy  air 
of  this  tree,  and  the  deep  shade  which  it  casts,  resulting 
from  the  downward  direction  of  its  branches,  as  well  as 
the  form  and  color  of  its  leaves,  have  very  properly 
marked  it  out  as  emblematical  of  mourning. 

On  approaching  the  Little  Falk,  we  observed  un- 
doubted marks  of  the  operation  of  the  water  on  rocks, 
now  far  out  of  their  reach,  particularly  the  round  holes 
worn  out  b}^  pebbles  kept  in  a  rotatory  motion  by  the 
current,  so  common  at  all  falls.  It  is  certain  that  here- 
tofore the  falls  must  have  been  so'ne  ways  further  down 
stream,  and  have  been  much  greater  than  they  now  are, 
and  that  the  German  flats,  and  other  low  grounds  near 
the  river  above,  must  have  been  the  bed  of  a  lake.  The 
falls  occupy  about  half  a  mile.  In  some  spots,  the  river 
is  so  crowded  between  rocks,  that  one  might  almost  pass 
across  it ;  in  most  places,  however,  it  is  broken  into  a 
number  of  streams  by  irregular  masses  of  limestone 
rock.  There  is  here  a  commodious  cana^  for  the  passage 
of  boats  cut  round  these  falls.  The  whole  fall  is  fifty-four 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  19 

feet ;  and  there  are  five  locks,  in  each  of  which  the  fall 
is  ten  feet,  besides  the  guard-lock,  where  it  is  four.  The 
locks  are  constructed  of  hewn  stone,  and  are  of  excel- 
lent workmanship ;  they  are  almost  exactly  upon  the 
construction  of  those  at  the  head  of  Middlesex  canal. 
Most  of  the  buildings  in  the  neighborhood,  as  well  as  two 
beautiful  Vjiidges  over  the  canal  here,  are  also  of  lime- 
stone. Carr  and  his  wife  are  from  Albany,  and  are  agree- 
able and  genteel  people. 

To  Trowbridge's  Hotel,  in  Utica,  to  dine.  The  house 
is  of  brick,  large,  commodious,  nd  well  attended.  We 
found  good  fare  here ;  in  partlculai  vcellent  wine.  From 
Little  Falls  to  this  is  twenty-two  miles.  In  this  stage,  we 
passed  the  German  flats,  an  extensive  and  well-culti- 
vated tract  of  interval  land  on  both  sides  the  Mohawk. 
The  town  of  German  Flats  is  on  the  south  of  the  town 
of  Herkimer,  opposite  thereto,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river.  Notwithstanding  the  celebrity  of  this  spot  for  the 
excellence  of  its  soil,  we  thought  it  not  equal  to  that  on 
Connecticut  River.  Having  passed  the  West  Canada 
Creek,  the  hills  on  both  sides  the  river  seem  to  subside, 
and  open  to  the  view  an  extensive  and  almost  unbounded 
tract  of  level  and  fertile  country,  though  of  a  much 
newer  aspect  than  any  we  had  s'3en  before. 

At  Utica,  we  passed  over  to  the  southern  side  of  the 
Mohawk.  The  river  here  is  about  the  size  of  the  Nashua, 
and  from  this  place  bends  off  to  the  north-west.  We 
happened  to  pass  the  bridge  as  a  batteau  was  coming  up 
to  a  store  at  the  end  of  it,  to  discharge  its  cargo.  The 
water  was  so  shoal  that  the  batteau  grounded  before  it 
could  be  brought  to  its  proper  place.  A  pair  of  horses 
were  attached  to  its  bows,  and  it  was  not  without  the 


20  JOURNAL  OF  A 

assistance  of  several  men,  added  to  the  strength  of  the 
horses,  that  it  was  got  up  to  the  landing-place  at  last. 

Morality  and  religion  do  not  seem  to  have  much  hold 
of  the  miiids  of  people  in  this  region.  Instances  of 
rudeness  and  profanity  are  to  be  met  with  in  almost 
every  place,  but  the  people  engaged  in  unloading  the 
batteau  were  much  more  extravagantly  and  unneces- 
sarily profane  than  is  common.  Several  persons  also, 
whom  I  saw  at  Little  F'alls  this  morning,  told  me  that 
they  knew  full  well  that  Adam  could  not  have  been  the 
first  man,  or  that  he  must  have  lived  much  longer  ago 
than  the  Scriptures  declare,  because  they  said  it  must 
be  more  than  five  thousand  years  for  the  Mohawk  to 
have  broken  through  the  rocks,  as  it  has  done  at  those 
falls. 

Utica  was  begun  to  be  settled  sixteen  years  ago,  and 
is  now  a  little  city,  and  contains  several  elegant  dwell- 
ing-houses, some  of  wliich  are  of  brick,  and  a  few  of 
stone,  together  Avith  a  great  numljer  of  stores  and  man- 
ufactories of  different  kinds.  The  Lombardy  poplar- 
tree  is  cultivated  here  in  great  abundance.  The  facility 
of  transportation  by  means  of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson 
Rivers  on  one  side,  and  Wood  Creek,  Oneida,  and  Onta- 
rio Lakes  on  the  other,  together  with  the  extraordinary 
fertility  of  the  adjacent  country,  must  at  no  great  dis- 
tance of  time  make  Utica  a  place  of  great  business  and 
resort,  and  of  course  its  population  must  rapidly  increase. 
Moses  Johnson,  a  broken  trader,  late  of  Keene,  now  of 
Manlius,  a  little  above  this  place,  whom  we  saw  at  Trow- 
bridge's, spoke  of  this  country  as  not  favorable  for 
traders,  and  that  a  very  few  stores  of  goods  would  over- 
stock the  market.     It  is  natural,  however,  for  people  in 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  21 

his  situation  to  ascribe  their  misfortunes  to  any  thing 
ratlier  than  their  own  imprudence  or  misconduct,  which 
others  would  probably  consider  as  the  true  cause  of 
them.  Mr.  Charles  Taylor  and  his  father,  whom  we 
liad  overtaken  at  Shepard's,  we  left  at  Utica. 

July  19<^.     To  Laird's  in  Westmoreland,  to  break- 
fast, eleven  miles ;  a  very  good  house.  Ou.     reakfast  here 
was  garnished  with  a  dish  of  excellent  honey.    Every 
thing  in  and  about  the  house  was  neat,  and  we  were 
particularly  struck  with  the  genteel  and  comely  appear- 
ance of  two  young  ladies,  daughters  of  our  landlord,  one 
of  whom,  we  were  told,  had  attended  a  ball  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, I  think  at  Paris,  the  evening  before.     This 
stage  was  over  a  tract  of  very  fertile  country,  nearly 
level,  but  a  little  ascending  ;  the  growth  was  mostly  of 
rock-maple  and  lime-tree.    We  passed  a  creek  in  New 
Hartford,  called  Sawguet,  or  Sagwet,  or  Sacada  [Sau- 
quoit],  and  another  in  a  corner  of  Paris  called  Kerry,  or 
Riscana,  say  Oriskany.     The  whole  country  from  Utica 
to  this  place  is  thickly  settled.     The  houses  are  mostly 
well  built,  and  many  of  them  handsome ;  very  few  log 
houses  to  be  seen.     Young  orchards  are  numerous  and 
thrifty,   and  Lombardy  jioplars  line  the  road  a  great 
part  of  the  way;   and  yet  we  saw  not  a  single  field 
which  had  not  the  stumps  of  the  original  forest  trees 
yet  remaining  in  it.     Honey  is  sent  from  hence  to  Lake 
Ontario,  in  barrels. 

To  Shethar's  in  Sullivan,  eighteen  miles,  to  dine ;  a 
good  tavern.  The  face  of  the  country  is  not  so  level 
here  as  about  U^.^a,  though  it  cannot  be  called  hilly, 
even  here.  In  addition  to  the  forest  trees  which  we  had 
before  seen,  we  here  found  the  shag-bark  nut  tree  in 


22  JOURNAL  OF  A 

abundance.  In  this  stage,  we  passed  through  the  Oneida 
Indian  village.  We  called  upon,  and  paid  our  respects 
to,  the  old  chief,  Skenandoa.*  He  told  us,  by  counting 
all  his  fingers  till  he  came  to  his  last  little  finger,  of 
which  he  marked  off  a  part,  by  saying  hundred,  that  he 
was  upwards  of  ninety  years  old.  He  called  himself 
chief.  He  was  blind  of  one  eye.  Asked  by  signs  where 
we  came  from,  and  on  being  answered  Boston,  appeared 
to  know  that  name.  He  inquired  where  we  were  going. 
We  said  a  great  way,  pointing  to  the  westward ;  and  he 
thereupon  said  inquisitively,  Niagara  ?  We  said  yes  ; 
and  he  tlien  made  a  motion  with  his  hands  and  arms 
indicating  the  falling  of  the  water. 

The  royal  palace  consisted  of  a  log  house,  the  ap- 
proach to  which  was  over  a  high  rail  fence.  The  build- 
ing was  about  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  square,  and  was 
furnished  with  a  chest  or  two,  two  or  three  stools,  and  a 
kind  of  scaffolding  or  elevation  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
about  two  feet  high,  covered  with  blankets,  intended  to 
sleep  on  by  night  and  loll  on  by  day.  There  was  a 
good-natured  sc^uaw  in  the  house,  whom  we  took  to  be 
the  wife  of  the  chief;  and  in  the  middle  of  the  room 


*  Skenandoa  died  in  1816,  aged  110  years.  He  was  well  known  in 
tlie  wars  wliicli  took  place  wliile  we  were  British  Colonies  and  in  our 
Itevolutionary  contest,  as  the  undeviatin^  friend  of  the  Americans.  In 
his  youth  he  was  a  brave  and  intrepid  warrior,  and  in  his  riper  years  one 
of  the  noblest  counsellors  among  the  North  American  tribes.  Among 
the  Indians  he  was  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  the  "white  man's 
friend."  From  Httacliment  to  the  llev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  missionary  to 
his  trilM?,  he  had  always  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  be  buried  near  his 
minister  and  father,  that  he  might  (to  use  his  own  expression)  '* (jo  up 
with  liim  at  t/it  fp-('(it  rcsuiTfrtion."  This  wish  was  gratified,  and  he  was 
interred  in  the  village  of  Clinton,  near  the  remains  of  Mr.  Kirkland. — 
N.  Y.  Hist.  CoIL—Va>. 


_„  TOUR   TO   NIAGARA    FALLS.  23 

was  suspended  from  the  roof  a  kind  of  cot,  in  wliicli  was 
an  infant  Indian  asleep,  about  six  months  old,  a  most 
perfectly  formed  child.  We  conjectured  it  to  be  the 
grandchild  of  the  chief.  Probably  the  immediate  parents 
of  the  child  lived  in  the  next  house,  which  was  distant 
not  more  than  six  feet.  We  remarked  upon  the  clothes 
of  this  infant  a  gieat  number  of  silver  brooches.  Uj^jon 
the  whole,  our  reception  by  the  old  king  and  his  royal 
consort  was  very  gracious ;  probably  the  more  so,  on 
account  of  several  small  pieces  of  money  which  we  laid 
down  on  the  breast  of  the  sleeping  infant. 

We  saw  a  young  man  among  the  Oneida  Indiaiis, 
who  was  a  little  better  dressed  than  the  rest.  I  in- 
quired of  one  who  could  speak  English  who  he  was, 
and  was  informed  that  he  was  lately  from  Canada  ;  that 
he  was  an  Oneida,  but  descended  from  those  of  that 
tribe  who,  in  the  course  of  our  war,  had  espoused  the 
British  cause.  Some  of  these  Indians  approached  so 
near  to  white  people  in  their  complexions  and  appear- 
ance as  to  induce  me  to  remark  it  to  the  one  who  spoke 
English,  and  he  told  me  they  were  part  French. 

We  were  afterwards  told  that  there  had  in  various 
ways  been  such  a  mixture  of  blood  in  this  tribe  that 
a  genuine  Oneida  Indian  was  perhaps  not  to  be  found. 
Most  of  those  whom  we  saw  in  the  village  were  rather 
surly,  and  all  of  them  filthy.  The  old  chief  was  by  far 
the  best-looking  and  best-behaved  man  amongst  them. 
He  is  more  than  six  feet  high.  In  this  stage,  we  also 
passed  the  Skanandoa  Creek,  the  first  water  we  met 
with  which  discharges  itself  into  the  ocean  by  the  St. 
Lawrence,  as  the  Oriskany  was  the  hist  which  pays 
tribute  to  the  Hudson. 


24  JOURNAL   OF   A 

We  next  passed  the  Oneida  Creek,  which  unites  with 
the  Skanandoa.     The  earth  in  some  places  here  is  of 
the  same  color  with  that  on  Connecticut  River,  where 
the  red  freestone  is  found.     In  the  Oneida  village,  the 
fields  are  free  from  stumps,  the  first  to  be  met  with  that 
are  so  from  Utica  to  this  place.     It  is  said  that  these 
Indians  cut  some  hav  and  raise  a  little  corn,  but  the 
quantity  of  each  is  so  small  that  both  they  and  their 
cattle   suffer   considerably  during   the  winter.      Their 
lands  seem  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality  and  well  watered ; 
but  their  husbandry  is  very  slovenly,  and  their  houses, 
which  are  constructed  wholly  with  logs,  are  dirty  and 
comfortless.  We  found  a  considerable  number  of  them  at 
a  neighboring  retailer's  shop,  drinking  rum.   We  treated 
them  with  some,  and  amused  ourselves  with  their  dex- 
terity at  hitting  a  mark  with  their  arrows,  by  setting  up 
cents  at  some  roods'  [rods'  ?]  distance  for  them  to  shoot 
at.     The   marksman  who   hits  a  cent  in  this   manner 
takes  it  for  his  pains.     They  seldom  miss  their  aim,  and 
it  is  remarkable  that  they  take  it  with  both  eyes  open. 

The  Oneida  reservation  is  ten  miles  square,  and  the 
number  of  Indians  in  the  tribe  is  computed  at  seven 
hundred.  We  saw  great  numbers  of  black  cattle  and 
horses  belonging  to  them,  grazing  in  their  fields.  To 
Tyler's  in  Onondaga  Hollow,  to  sleep,  twenty-one  miles. 
The  last  sixteen  miles  are  over  a  very  hilly  country ;  the 
Canaseraga  Mountain,  in  particular,  is  four  or  five  miles 
over,  and  very  steep.  From  this  mountain  we  had  an 
indistinct  view  of  the  Oneida  Lake  to  the  north-west- 
ward ;  but  the  weather  was  hazy,  and  the  opening  among 
the  trees,  through  which  alone  we  could  see  the  lake, 
was  so  small  that  the  prospect  was  not  very  satisfac- 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA  FALLS.  25 

toiy.  Before  coming  to  the  Canaseraga  Mountain,  we 
passed  the  Canaseraga  and  Chittenango  Creeks,  and 
after  passing  the  mountain  we  passed  the  mill  and  De 
Witt's  Creek.  Near  the  top  of  the  mountain,  a  few 
rods  to  the  north  o^  the  road,  is  situated  a  curious 
spring,  which  we  visited.  It  is  in  a  hollow  or  basin, 
which  is  about  thirty  feet  over  and  twelve  deep.  A 
small  stream  springs  out  of  the  earth  on  one  side  of  the 
basin,  runs  across  it,  and  then  entirely  disappears. 

The  country,  as  we  approached  the  Onondaga  Hollow, 
we  found  had  been  louGfer  settled  than  nearer  the 
Oneida  village,  because  the  last  cession  of  the  Oneidas 
on  the  west,  and  immediately  contiguous  to  their  pres- 
ent reservation,  was  made  but  six  or  eight  years  ago, 
wliereas  the  country  to  the  westward  of  that  had  begun 
to  be  settled  some  time  before.  The  town  of  Manlius, 
in  particular,  has  the  appearance  of  a  flourishing  settle- 
ment. This  town  is  the  first  in  the  Military  Tracts 
which  is  the  lands  given  by  the  State  of  New  York  as 
a  gratuity  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  their  line  in 
the  lievolutionary  Army.  As  we  were  descending  into 
the  Onondaga  Hollow,  we  saw  to  the  north-westward 
the  Salina  or  Onondaga  Lake.  The  descent  into  the  Hol- 
low is  from  very  lofty  into  very  low  ground.  The  Hol- 
low is  a  flat  extending  from  north  to  south  eight  or  ten 
miles,  being  from  one  to  three  or  four  miles  wide.  The 
settlement  is  near  the  northern  end ;  and  the  Onondaga 
reservation,  which  is  three  miles  long  and  two  broad,  is 
situated  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Hollow.  The 
laud  throughout,  but  particularly  the  Indian  reservation, 
is  said  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality. 

The  Onondaga  Creek,  which  is  of  a  convenient  size 

4 


26  JOURNAL  OF  A 

for  a  mill-stream,  runs  along  the  Hollow  from  south  to 
north,  as  do  all  the  other  streams  in  this  country.  This 
creek  passes  near  the  celebrated  Onondaga  salt  springs, 
which  are  situated  about  five  or  six  miles  northward 
from  Tyler's.  We  had  intended  to  visit  these  springs, 
but  it  was  near  night,  and  it  rained  withal  when  we 
arrived  at  the  Hollow,  and  we  were  to  proceed  on  our 
journey  before  daylight  next  morning.  We  therefore 
reluctantly  gave  up  the  thoughts  of  visiting  the  salt 
springs :  we  were  told,  however,  that  there  was  nothing 
particularly  interesting  in  a  view  of  the  spot  where  they 
are  situated  ;  that  it  is  a  marshy,  dirty,  and  unhealthy 
place,  and  that  the  people  who  manufactured  the  salt 
are  poor,  filthy,  and  sickly.  That  salt,  nevertheless,  is 
manufactured  there  in  such  abundance,  that  a  barrel 
containing  five  bushels,  weighing  fifty-six  pounds  per 
bushel,  can  sometimes  be  purchased  for  ten  shillings. 
New  York  currency,  exclusive  of  the  barrel,  the  price 
of  which  is  four  and  sixpence  more  ;  so  that  the  price  of 
a  bushel  of  salt,  exclusive  of  the  barrel,  is  sometimes  no 
more  than  twenty-five  cents.  The  quantity  produced  is 
equal  to  the  demand,  we  were  told  about  eighty  bushels 
sometimes  in  a  day^  but  it  may  be  indefinitely  increased. 

The  springs  are  the  property  of  the  State.  They  are 
farmed  out  for  a  certain  annual  rent,  which  is  paid  into 
the  salt  treasury.  The  laborers  who  manufacture  the 
salt  are  paid  for  their  services  in  the  article  itself. 

Some  of  the  Onondaga  Indians  whom  we  saw  were 
very  gayly  dressed.  One  young  man,  whose  appearance 
indicated  his  being  an  Indian  of  taste  and  fashion, 
had  the  rim  of  each  ear  slit  off  from  the  ear  itself,  so 
as  to  hang  over,  and,  being  stretched  by  the  weight  of 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  27 

silver  plates  wound  round  them,  reached  down  to  his 
shoulders. 

The  Onondaga  Indians  are  said  to  be  remarkably  tem- 
perate, though  not  so  attentive  to  husbandry  as  the 
Oneidas.  They  are  beginning,  however,  to  keep  cattle, 
plough,  &ic.  They  are  peaceable  and  submissive  in 
their  behavior.  Our  landlord  told  us  that  he  thoug^ht 
them  the  most  civil  people  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
They  are  about  three  hundred  in  number,  but  are  con- 
tinually diminishing. 

Anderugaga  is  the  name  of  their  war  chief.  He  is 
said  to  possess,  both  in  appearance  and  disposition,  all 
the  ferocity  ever  ascribed  to  the  savage  character. 
Tyler's  is  a  poor  tavern,  and  our  accommodations  for 
sleeping  were  most  miserable. 

July  20th.  Rose  at  half  past  two  o'clock,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Andrew's,  at  Skaneateles,  to  breakfast,  sixteen 
miles ;  a  good  tavern.  The  country  is  still  hilly,  but 
very  fertile.  The  soil  is  deep,  —  a  mixture  of  loam  and 
clay.  The  roads  here  must  be  very  bad  in  wet  weather. 
It  rained  last  night  for  the  first  time  since  we  com- 
menced our  journey  ;  and  the  horses'  feet,  in  consequence 
thereof,  slipped  as  if  they  were  travelling  on  snow  or 
ice. 

Rising  out  of  the  Onondaga  Hollow  is  a  long  and 
very  steep  hill.  The  road  is  constructed  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  a  precipice,  in  such  a  manner  that,  as  jou 
approach  the  top  of  the  hill,  you  have  a  tremendous 
gulf  on  your  left  hand,  at  the  bottom  of  which  you  hear 
the  murmur  of  a  brook  fretting  among  the  rocks,  as  it 
is  passing  on  toward  the  Onondaga  Creek,  which  it  joins 
in  the  Hollow.    There  is  a  kind  of  railing  or  fence,  com- 


28  JOURNAL  OF   A 

posed  of  logs  secured  with  stakes  or  trees,  which  is  all 
that  prevents  the  passenger,  and  even  the  road  itself, 
from  falling  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulf.  On  the  hill 
we  found  the  embryo  of  a  village.  A  court-house  is 
already  built,  and  the  frame  of  a  liotel  is  raised.  The 
hotel,  we  were  told,  is  to  be  kept  by  one  Brunson.  It 
is  an  accommodation  much  needed  by  travellers  on  this 

road. 

From  this  hill,  we  were  told,  could  have  been  seen 
the  Oneida  Lake,  if  we  had  had  daylight  and  clear 
weather.     We  passed  the  outlet  of  the  Otisco  Lake,  — 
a  copious  mill-stream  of  pure  water.    Indc^^d,  the  waters 
of  all  the  streams  and  lakes  in  this  country,  which  dis- 
charge themselves  into  Lake  Ontario,  are  remarkable  for 
their  whiteness  and  purity.     We  did  not  see  the  Otisco 
Lake,  though  we  were  told  it  w^as  not  more  than  a  mile 
distant  from  the  road.    Skaneateles  is  a  pleasant  village, 
situated  on  the  northern  extremity,  and  at  the  outlet  of, 
the  lake  of  the  same  name.    The  lake  is  from  one  to  two 
miles  wide,  and  sixteen  miles  long  from  north  to  south. 
There  is  a  view  of  the  village  of  about  six  miles  up  the 
lake.     The  country  which  encompasses  this  lake  is  de- 
lightful.    There  are  no  marshes  or  swamps  to  be  seen  ; 
but  the  land  slopes  gently  towards  the  water,  so  that 
wltat  is  seen  growing  to  its  very  edge.     The   soil  is 
remarkably  fertile,  free  from  rocks,  and  agreeably  diver- 
sified with  gentle  swells.     The  lake,  moreover,  abounds 
with  fish  of  all  kinds  usually  found  in  fresh  water,  and 
the  outlet  affords  a  most  excellent  seat  for  mills  and 
other  w^ater-works.     Here  are  already  a  grist  and  saw 
mill,  a  carding-machine,  and  two  distil-houses,  which 
are  suppUed  with  water  from  the  lake,  though  many 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA  FALLS.  29 

« 

roods  [rods?]  distant,  by  means  of  pumps  wrought  by- 
water.  The  pumps  discharge  tlieir  water  into  perpen- 
dicuhir  logs  or  pipes,  from  which  it  descends,  and  then 
runs  along  in  an  aqueduct  till  it  reaches  the  distil-housc, 
and  then  rises  again.  The  dam  which  is  thrown  across 
the  outlet  raises  the  water  over  the  whole  surface  of 
tlie  lake.  This  is  the  reason  there  is  no  beach  now  to 
be  seen  on  its  borders,  but  the  verdure  meets  the  water. 
It  is  remarkable  that  this  flowing  should  not  overflow 
any  lands  adjacent  to  the  lake,  except  a  small  tract  at 
the  southern  or  upper  extremity  of  the  lake  ;  and  the 
proprietor  of  the  dam  has  j^urchased  the  right  to  flow 
that. 

To  Harris's  in  Cayuga,  fifteen  miles,  to  dine.  We  here 
had  an  excellent  dinner  of  beefsteaks.  ]Mr.  Harris  told 
us  that  they  could  keep  beef  fresh  four  or  five  days,  in 
hot  weather,  by  hanging  it  upon  the  trees  —  wrapping 
it  in  flannel  —  as  high  as  was  convenient.  Flannel  is 
better  to  wrap  it  in  than  linen. 

The  village  of  Cayuga  is  small,  but  pleasant  and 
lively.  It  is  in  the  township  of  Marcellus,  on  the  east- 
ern bank  of  the  Cayuga  Lake,  within  one  or  two  miles 
of  its  northern  extremity.  This  lake  is  about  two  miles 
wide  in  general,  and  almost  forty  miles  long.  Nearly 
north  and  south  from  the  village,  there  are  about  fifteen 
miles  of  the  lake  in  sight.  The  shores  are  mostly  of 
hard  land,  except  at  the  northern  extremity,  where  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  marsh,  which  is  an  unfavorable  circum- 
stance for  the  village,  as  it  is  not  only  disagreeable  to 
the  sight,  but,  I  think,  also  to  the  smell.  There  is  a 
wooden  bridge  across  the  lake,  leading  from  Ca^^uga  vil- 
lage towards  Geneva,  one  mile  long,  wanting  three  roods. 


80  JOFRXAL  OF    A 

It  suffered  so  much  bv  shocks  of  the  ice  last  winter,  that 
in  some  places  it  is  hardly  safe  to  pass  it.  This  forenoon 
we  had  passed  the  outlet  of  the  Owasco  Lake,  but  did 
not  see  tlie  lake  itself,  which  we  were  told  was  about  a 
mile  south  of  the  road.  The  country  hitherto  is  some- 
wliat  uneven,  though  by  no  means  so  much  so  as  near 
the  Onondaga  Hollow.  The  soil,  however,  is  excellent 
in  many  places,  and  is  of  a  reddish  color. 

To  Powell's  Hotel  in  Geneva,  to  sleep,  sixteen  miles ; 
excellent  accommodations.  At  Harris's  we  had  met  with 
a  Mr.  Rees,  a  gentleman  in  trade  at  Geneva,  who  took 
passage  in  the  stage  with  us  for  that  place.  From  this 
gentleman,  whom  we  found  very  intelligent  and  com- 
municative, we  learned  many  particulars  concerning  the 
salt  springs,  discovered  about  five  years  since  upon  the 
Cayuga  outlet.  Tliese  springs  are  about  twelve  miles 
below  the  Cayuga  bridge,  and  are  on  both  sides  the  out- 
let :  that  on  the  western  side  is  in  the  township  of  Ga- 
len, and  belongs  to  Mr.  Rees  and  his  partner  in  trade. 
These  springs  had  long  been  known  to  the  Indians,  but 
they  had  always  been  reserved  in  communicating  their 
knowledge  of  thp  state  of  the  country  to  the  white  set- 
tlers. It  was  not  till  most  or  all  of  those  who  lived  near 
this  outlet  had  died  or  moved  away,  except  one,  that  he 
mentioned  the  existence  of  these  springs  ;  and  for  a  re- 
ward he  conducted  some  persons  to  the  place  where  they 
are  situated.  The  persons  to  whom  he  communicated 
this  information  endeavored  to  purchase  the  favored 
spot  before  the  owner  should  be  apprised  of  its  inesti- 
mable value  ;  but  he  accidentally  obtained  a  knowledge 
of  his  good  fortune,  and  of  course  refused  to  sell. 

The  Galen  si)ring  is  a  basin  situated  in  a  marshy  spot. 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALI^.  81 

one  hundred  rods  from  the  outlet.  In  the  centre  of  the 
basin,  the  water  is  commonly  ten  feet  deep.  A  passage 
for  boats  has  been  cut  from  the  basin  to  the  outlet,  and 
a  perceptible  current  commonly  sets  out  through  this 
passage.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  surrounding 
marsh,  and  of  course  the  salt  water  itself,  is  overflowed 
by  the  fresh  water  from  the  outlet ;  but  the  fresh  water 
and  the  salt  do  not  seem  readily  to  mix,  for  the  water, 
which  is  raised  from  the  bottom  of  the  basin  by  pumps, 
is  found,  even  in  times  of  freshets,  to  be  highly  saturated 
with  salt,  while  that  upon  the  surface  is  altogether  fresh. 
In  case  of  a  wind,  however,  the  salt  water  is  so  diluted 
by  a  mixture  with  the  fresh  as  not  to  be  woi  ili  working. 
It  w^ould  not  be  difficult  to  construct  a  dyke  or  wall 
which  would  prevent  these  inundations  ;  but  the  pres- 
ent proprietors  justly  consider  this  spring,  under  all  its 
disadvantages,  as  an  invaluable  treasure ;  that,  if  in 
attempting  to  make  it  a  little  more  useful  or  commo- 
dious they  should  lose  it  altogether,  they  would  have 
abundant  cause  of  self-reproach  ;  and  that,  as  they  know 
not  in  which  direction  the  salt  water  comes,  if  thev  were 
to  dig  between  the  basin  and  the  outlet  for  the  founda- 
tion of  a  wall,  they  might  possibly  break  in  upon  its 
subterraneous  channel,  and  direct  the  current  so  as  to 
lose  it.  They  therefore  think  it  most  prudent  to  rest 
satisfied  with  the  spring  in  its  present  state. 

There  is  some  reason  to  suspect  that  the  course  of 
the  salt  water  is  under  the  bed  of  the  outlet,  because 
there  is  upon  the  other  side  of  the  outlet  another  salt 
spring,  called  Smith's ;  and  it  is  observed  that  during 
the  prevalence  of  drought  the  water  of  either  of  the 
springs  is  not  so  strongly  impregnated  with  salt  as  at 


32  JOUPwNAL  OF   A 


other  times,  and  that  it  even  becomes  so  weak  as  not  to 
be  worth  working.     Upon  the  return  of  rain,  the  water 
regains  its  highly  saline  quality,  but  not  under  five  or 
six  days  at  the  Galen  spring,  and  at  Smith's  in  not  less 
than  five  or  six  weeks.     At  the  Galen  spring,  eighty  to 
one  hundred  gallons  of  water  commonly  yield  a  bushel 
of  salt,  weighing  fifty-six   pounds  ;   whereas  sixty   or 
eighty  of  that  at  Onondaga  will  yield  the  same  quantity 
of  salt.     The  water  is  pumped  off  into  iron  pans  and 
boiled  down,  — a  process  which  it  requires  twelve  hours 
to  accom[)lish.     The  consumption  of  wood  in  this  manu- 
factoi-y  is  so  great  that,  although  the  price  of  it  is  five 
and  sixpence,  New  York  currency,  per  cord,  yet  the  whole 
expense  for  that  article  alone  at  the  Galen  spring  is  five 
thousand  dollars  per  year.     At  present,  the  quantity  of 
salt   manufactured  here  is  about  forty  bushels  a  day ; 
but  the  proprietors  are  about  to  increase  the  quantity, 
which  it  seems  they  might  do  to  an  unlimited  extent. 
The  water  at  the  Galen  spi-ing  is  of  a  thick,  brown, 
muddy  color  in  appearance,  and  smells  not  unlike  bilge- 
water.     The  marsh  in  the  neighborhood  produces  hay 
in   all   respects    resembling   that  which  grows  on  salt 
marshes,  except  in  the  salt  taste. 

Mr.  Hees  informed  us  that  he  held  salt  at  his  works 
at  fifty  cents  per  busheL  This  is  higher  than  it  is 
sometimes  to  be  had  at  Onondaga.  At  Onondaga,  the 
I)rice  is  limited,  and  the  weight  of  the  bushel  and  size 
of  the  cask  are  established  by  law.  Besides  being  free 
from  any  of  these  restrictions,  Mr.  Kees  ti links  his 
works  are  more  favorably  situated  for  transportation, 
either  to  the  northward  into  Lake  Ontario,  or  the 
south-westward  by  means  of  Seneca  Lake,  or  going  up 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  33 

Lake  Ontario,  thence  l)y  Lake  Erie,  ^lichigan,  «S:c., 
even  to  the  Alleghany  River,  and  by  that  to  Pittsburg. 

Smith's  spring  generally  affords  water  as  highly  satu- 
rated with  salt  as  that  in  Galen.  There  is  yet  another 
spring,  situated  about  half  a  mile  below  Cayuga  Bridge, 
on  the  western  shore  of  Cayuga  Lake,  which  3'ields  salt 
water.  Several  attempts  have  been  made  to  dig  a  well, 
into  which  to  receive  the  salt  water  here,  so  that  it 
might  be  collected  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  manu- 
factured. These  attempts  have  hitherto  failed  on  ac- 
count of  the  quicksands,  which  have  filled  the  well  as 
fast  as  the  workmen  could  dig  it.  The  owner,  however, 
does  not  yet  despair.  We  saw  him  going  toward  the 
spot  with  several  i)eople,  to  see  what  measures  could  l)e 
taken  to  bring  this  spring  into  operation. 

The  existence  of  these  springs  in  this  region  is  a 
wonderful  instance  of  the  benignity  of  Providence. 
Here  is  a  fertile  and  extensive  country,  capable  of  con- 
taining an  immense  population,  which  is  nearly  three 
hundred  miles  from  the  ocean  in  the  nearest  part.  If 
the  inhabitants  were  obliged  to  furnish  themselves  with 
salt  from  seawards,  an  annual  sup2)ly  of  that  necessary 
article  would  often  cost  them  more  than  their  bread, 
whi(.*h  could  not  fail  to  be  a  i)owerful  discouragement 
to  tlie  settlement  of  the  country. 

The  road  from  Cayuga  to  Geneva  is  for  a  few  miles 
along  the  southern  or  south-eastern  side,  and  the  rest 
along  the  northern  or  north-eastern  side  of  the  Seneca 
outlet.  The  face  of  the  country  near  the  road  is  more 
level ;  but  the  soil  is  more  sandy  and  uninviting  than 
v^e  had  lately  seen,  till  we  approached  near  to  Geneva. 
The   land    there   is  excellent,  as  we  were  told  it  was, 


34  JOURNAL  OF   A 

tbroiicrh  all  the  tract  which  extends  between  the  Cay- 
urra  and  the  Seneca  Lakes.  This  tract  rises  in  a  kind 
of  regular  glacis  from  each  lake,  so  that  from  the  mid- 
dle of  it  one  can  see  both.  It  wants  nothing  but  in- 
habitants and  cultivation  to  make  it  an  clysium.  The 
Seneca  outlet  flows  into  the  lower  end  of  the  Cayuga 
Lake.  Towards  its  mouth  there  is  a  considerable  fall, 
or  rather  rapid,  which  it  is  contemplated  to  lock, 
whereby  a  water  communication  will  be  opened  be- 
tween the  two  lakes.  The  stream  is  {d)out  half  the 
size    of    the    \Vinnii)iseogee,   and    has    a    bluish-white 

appearance. 

We  were  within  half  a  mile  of  Geneva  before  we 
came  in  sight  of  the  Seneca  Lake.  This  charming  sheet 
of  water  extends  southerly  from  this  place  to  Catharine 
Town,  forty  miles,  being  from  two  to  four  miles  wide. 
There  is  not  a  foot  of  swamp  or  marsh  on  its  borders, 
from  one.  extremity  to  the  other  ;  hut  it  is  everywhere 
lined  by  a  clear,  gravelly  beach,  and  the  land  rises  from 
it  with   a   very  gentle   and   graceful   ascent  in    every 

direction. 

We  were  somewhat  disappointed  in  the  town  of 
Geneva,  not  so  much  as  to  the  size  of  the  place,  ele- 
gance of  the  houses,  or  even  beauty  of  the  situation 
considered  simply  in  itself,  but  as  to  its  relative  situa- 
tion with  respect  to  the  lake.  Jt  stands  at  the  nortli- 
eastcru  corner,  about  half  a  mile  from  tlie  northern 
extremity  of  the  lake,  from  which  situation  tlicre  is 
a  prospect  across,  but  not  lengthwise  of,  tlit;  water. 
Whereas,  lia<l  the  town  been  ])uilt  half  a  mile  to  the 
north-eastward  from  its  present  situation,  it  would  have 
stood  on  ground  less  elevaled  to  be  sure,  but  yet   sulli- 


TOUll   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  35 

ciently  so,  and  very  well  calculated  for  a  city ;  and,  in 
tlijit  case,  it  would  have  commanded  a  cliarmiiii^  pros- 
pect twenty  miles  up  the  lake.  We  saw  above  the 
water  the  masts  of  a  schooner,  which  lies  sunk  about 
one  hundred  rods  from  shore.  ^Mr.  Kees,  our  fellow- 
traveller,  we  found  to  be  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Nicholas, 
lately  one  of  the  Yir<^inia  representatives  in  Congress, 
but  who  has  lately  purchased  and  settled  upon  an  ex- 
tensive tract  of  excellent  land,  on  the  north-eastern 
extremity  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  near  the  outlet,  ^fr. 
Rees  waited  upon  us  some  time  after  our  arrival,  with 
Mr.  Nicholas's  com])liments  and  an  invitation  to  call  on 
him  to  tea  the  next  day.  Our  haste  to  proceed  obligcjd 
us  to  decline  the  invitation.  We  felt  a  sensil)le  regret 
at  parting  with  Mr.  Rees,  whom  we  had  found  to  be  a 
very  intelligent,  agreeable,  and  gentlemanly  man. 

Cayuga  Lake  abounds  with  fish,  of  whicli  the  black 
bass  are  the  mo.st  esteemed.  TIk;  Seneca  Lake  does 
not  afford  fish  in  as  great  i)lenty,  and  they  are  therefore 
often  brought  to  Geneva  from  Cayuga.  J'laster  of  l*aris 
has  lately  been  discovered  at  Bath,  about  fifty  miles 
south-westwar<l  from  Cieneva.  Iron  ore  is  met  with  in 
many  jdaces  in  tiiis  neighl)orhood. 

Not  far  from  (ieneva  are  some  of  the  Lidian  orchards, 
which  were  cut  down  bv  Geneial  Sullivan  in  his  famous 
expedition,  scarce  less  barbaious  tlian  those  of  the  sav- 
ages themselves.  The  trees  now  growing  in  these 
orchards  sfjrouted  from  the  roots  of  those  which  were 
cut  down,  and  therefore  grow  in  clusters,  six  or  seven 
rising  from  one  I'oot.  We  saw  Lidian  fields  here  free 
from  stumps,  the  only  ones  which  are  to  the  westward 
of  Ltica,  exce[)t  those  belonging  to  the   Oneidas.     We 


36  JOURNAL   OF    A 

were  told  that,  at  tliis  season  of  the  year,  tlie  wind  at 
Geneva  hlows  constantly  from  the  sonth  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  from  the  north  in  the  afternoon.  We  here 
qnitted  tlie  stage,  Avhich  runs  no  further  than  Canan- 
daigua,  and  hired  an  open  Dutch  wagon  and  driver, 
and  a  single  horse,  to  carry  us  to  Niagara. 

July  21st.  Our  direct  course  from  Geneva  would 
have  heen  westward  to  Canaudaigua,  sixteen  miles  ;  but 
we  deviated  from  that  course,  and  travelled  north-west- 
ward from  Geneva,  fourteen  miles,  to  the  Sul[)hur 
Springs.  For  some  miles  from  Geneva,  the  country  is 
fertile  and  flourishing  in  a  high  degree.  We  had  now 
reached  the  flat  country,  which  extends  with  very  little 
interruption  quite  to  Lake  Erie,  n[)wards  of  one  hundred 
miles.  In  the  town  of  I'helps,  we  passed  the  Flint 
Creek,  the  bed  of  which  is  mostly  of  limestone,  as  are 
the  beds  of  almost  all  the  streams  in  this  region.  The 
stones  here  are  a  kind  of  composition  or  pudding  stone. 
They  look  as  if  they  were  formed  by  the  fusion  of  a 
part  of  their  substance,  which  in  hardening  has  incor- 
poriited  into  the  mass  a  great  number  of  small  stones 
which  had  been  already  formed.  Finding  rocks  of  this 
kind  in  this  level  country,  at  a  great  distance  from  any 
hill,  icfutes  the  notion  that  they  are  formed  in  volcanoes. 
Ycumg  orchards,  both  of  peach  and  api)le  trees,  aboun«l 
and  flourish  here  ;  they  are  in  general  from  three  to  six 
years  old.  Peach-trees  are  the  most  numerous,  but  they 
were  chiefly  without  fruit.  Notwithstanding  that  there 
are  some  considerable  streams  in  the  Genesee  countr}^ 
yet  there  are  but  few  compared  with  the  whole  extent ; 
and,  as  they  generally  proceed  from  lakes,  small  brooks 
and  rills  are  scarcely  to  be  met  with.     Springs  of  water, 


TOUIl    TO   NIAGARA    FALLS.  37 

wliich  are  so  common  in  New  England  Jind  other  liilly 
countries,  are  seldom  found  liere,  which  is  probably  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  flatness  of  the  surface.  Where  a  s[)ring 
does  ap[)ear,  it  comnionl\'  issues  fi'om  the  ground  at  once 
in  great  force,  sufficiently  so  in  some  instances  to  turn  a 
mill,  at  its  first  emerging  ;  or,  if  the  quantity  of  water 
be  small,  it  will  disap})ear  after  runuing  a  little  ways. 
Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  this  tract  may  be  said  to  be 
but  2)oorly  watered  ;  and  some  of  tlie  settlers  complain 
that  they  are  obliged  to  dig  wells,  and  supply  tlieir  cat- 
tl(5  from  tliem.  The  Suljiluu'  S[)iings  are  just  within 
tlie  limits  of  Farmiugton.  A  swale  or  valley,  of  near  a 
mile  in  extent,  aff'ords  in  several  places  copious  springs 
of  water,  strongly  imjiregnated  with  sulpluu".  Two  of 
the  most  remarkable  we  visited  :  that  wliich  affords  the? 
least  water  of  the  two  deposits  tlie  greatest  quantity  of 
sulphur;  the  other  affords  water  sufficient  at  the  fountain- 
head,  constantly,  to  turn  a  corn-mill.  The  water  from 
this  spiing  Hows  six  or  eight  rods  down  a  steep  declivity 
or  bed  of  limestone,  into  a  quagmire  of  an  acre  or  two 
in  extent,  which  is  so  soft  and  dee[)  that  it  is  impossible 
to  go  npon  it. 

The  bed  of  the  stream  through  its  whole  extent,  and 
every  substance  with  which  the  water  comes  in  contact, 
are  covered  with  sulphur,  so  that,  altliough  the  water  itself 
appears  to  be  i)erfectly  pure  and  lim[)id,  all  other  objects 
near  it  are  tinged  with  a  sulphureous  yellow.  In  the 
quag  at  the  bottom  of  the  declivity,  this  color  becomes 
gradually  more  faint  ;  and  we  were  told  that,  when 
the  stream  has  flowed  about  half  a  mile  further,  it  loses 
all  its  sulphureous  qualities,  and  becomes  perfectly  fresh 
and  sweet.     Several  small  streams  of  pure  water  flow 


38  JOURNAL   OF   A 


t) 


within  a  few  rods  of  the  Sulphur  Springs,  with  which 
they  unite  some  ways  below,  and  then  pass  off  into  the 
Canandaigua  outlet.  The  water  of  these  springs  is  drank 
by  invalids  as  a  restorative  and  tonic.  It  is  said  to  oper- 
ate as  a  sudorific  and  diuretic,  and  at  first,  or  if  taken  in 
too  great  quantity,  as  a  cathartic.  The  taste  is  not  dis- 
agreeable ;  it  contains  no  fixed  air,  and  is  about  the  tem- 
perature of  common  well-water.  It  is  used  also  for 
bathing.  IVIr.  Powell,  of  Geneva,  the  present  proprietor, 
has  provided  an  excellent  contrivance  for  administering 
a  shower-bath.  It  sujjplies  the  water  in  great  abun- 
dance, and  as  long  as  the  patient  pleases.  As  far  as  we 
could  judge,  from  the  activity  and  screaming  of  several 
Avho  made  trial  of  this  bath  while  we  were  present,  its 
effect  must  be  very  powerful. 

The  atmosjjhere  for  a  considerable  distance  around 
these  springs  is  so  highl}^  charged  with  sul[)hur  that  it 
smells  like  damaged  gunpowder,  or  like  a  foul  musket. 
With  some  people  it  occasions  a  nausea,  and  to  most  it 
is  disagreeable.  The  sulphur,  especially  at  the  second 
spring  we  visited,  lies  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground 
in  great  quantities,  and  in  a  state  perfectly  pure,  except 
that  it  adheres  to  the  fibres  of  moss,  wliich,  upon  a 
near  view,  gives  the  sulphur  itself  the  appearance  of 
a  vecretable.  A  kind  of  small  insect,  covered  with  a 
cylindrical  shell,  somewhat  resembling  a  snail,  but  much 
less  in  size,  is  found  attached  in  great  numbers  to  the 
stones  and  all  other  substances,  in  the  streams  that  flow 
from  these  springs.  Vegetation  in  this  vicinity  has  the 
same  appearance  as  elsewhere,  both  as  to  kind  and 
quality. 

Mr.  Powell  proposes  to  build  a  house  here  for  the  ac- 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  39 

comrnodation  of  people  going  from  the  Sulphur  Springs. 
We  crossed  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  and  travelled  soutli- 
westerl}^  ten  miles  to  the  town  of  that  name,  standing 
near  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lake  of  the  same  name. 
Most  of  the  land  here  is  of  the  best  quality;  but  the 
drought  was  very  severe,  the  more  so,  probably,  on  ac- 
count of  the  flatness  of  the  country.  The  Canandaigua 
Lake  is  not  to  be  compared  to  the  Seneca,  either  in  l)eauty 
or  magnitude  ;  but  the  town  is  more  interesting  than  Ge- 
neva. Here  is  a  huge,  well-built,  brick  jail,  a  court-house, 
used  also  as  a  place  of  public  worship,  an  academy, 
and  a  hotel.  A  hotel  was  formerly  kept  under  the  same 
roof  with  tlie  jail ;  but  it  Avas  found  th;it  tliis  circum- 
stance was  disagreeable  to  most  guests,  so  that  the 
scheme  was  abandoned.  Tlie  hotel  where  we  stopped 
is  kept  by  Taylor.  It  is  a  handsome  and  commodious 
building,  and  is  well  attended.  Tliere  is  i)lenty  of 
oak  and  some  cliestnut  wood  to  l)e  met  with,  after  reach- 
ing the  small  lakes,  though  we  liad  not  seen  either  for 
some  time  before.  Tlie  turnpike  road  ends  at  this  place. 
The  whole  length  from  Albany  is  two  hundred  and  six 
or  seven  miles  :  it  may  properly  be  called  two  turnpikes, 
which  join  each  other  at  Utica.  A  project  is  on  foot  for 
still  extending  the  turn[)ike  even  to  Niagara,  a  direct 
course  to  which  would  not  probably  exceed  one  hundred 
miles. 

]\Ir.  Rees  told  us  yesterday  that  he  was  engaged  to 
proceed  to-morrow  with  certain  commissioners  to  mark 
:  out  the  course  of  the  road,  and  that  the  proprietors  will 
begin  to  woik  ui)on  it  next  year.  'J'he  road  may  not 
be  very  good  pro[)erty  at  first,  but  will  probably  soon 
become  so,  judging  from  the  astonishing  rapidity  with 


40  JOUnXAL   OF   A 

"which  tins  country  is  settled.  It  is  ascertained  tliat  one 
tliuiisand  families  migrated  hither  during  the  last  year, 
two  thirds  of  whom  were  from  New  England. 

To  Hall's  in  Bloomfield,  to  sleep,  twelve  miles  ;  very 
good  house.  We  had  an  excellent  supper  and  clean 
heds.  The  town  of  Bloomfield  has  been  settled  about 
fifteen  years,  and  is  now  in  a  flourishing  state.  Here  is 
a  handsome  new  meeting-house  with  a  tasty  steeple. 
The  vane  on  the  steeple  is  rather  whimsical.  It  is 
a  flying  angel,  blowing  a  trumpet  against  the  wind. 
Within  this  town  we  passed  a  small  creek,  wdiich  is  the 
most  westerly  water  which  discharges  itself  into  Lake 
Ontario  by  the  Oswego  outlet,  b}^  which  all  the  water 
we  had  yet  seen  is  discharged,  which  flows  into  that 
lake.  The  country  which  supplies  that  w'ater  is  up- 
wards of  one  hundred  miles  Avide,  as  the  road  goes. 
The  growth  here  is  chiefly  oak.  The  soil  is  good, 
though  more  hilly  and  not  so  luxuriant  as  W(3  had  seen. 
Some  of  their  fields  were  without  trees  when  the  first 
settlers  came  here,  which  gives  the  town  the  ap[)ear- 
ance  of  an  older  settlement  than  it  is.  Orchards  are 
numerous,  both  of  peach  and  api)le  trees  ;  the  former, 
which  are  most  numerous,  are  cultivated  for  brandy. 
Wild  plum-trees  are  common  here. 

The  ine(|ualities  in  the  surface  of  this  town  afford 
much  more  distant  prospects,  than  can  be  had  in  flat 
OTOund.  From  the  hill  on  which  the  meetiuGf-house 
stands,  there  is  an  extensive  view  in  every  direction 
except  north-westward.  This  afternoon  the  wind  was 
easterly,  but  it  was  wholly  free  from  that  raw,  humid 
quality  which  an  easterly  wind  possesses  on  the  sea 
coast.     The     tli*  rmonieter    in    the    eveninii'    was     72°, 


TOUn  TO   XIACJARA   FALLS.  41 

altljoup^li  in  the  morning  it  had  been  as  low  as  54° 
Fiilirenlieit. 

General  Hall,  our  landlord,  told  us  that  a  new  salt 
spring  had  been  discovered  but  a  few  days  since,  about 
twelve  miles  to  the  westward  of  Genesee  River,  and  as 
much  off  of  our  route.  It  is  on  the  laud  of  Sir  William 
Pultney,  and  is  llioroughly  impregnated  with  salt.  He 
told  us  also  that  there  was  yet  another,  not  far  from 
Batavia.  This  day,  at  Canandaigua,  I  saw  Mr.  Moore, 
whom  I  had  formerly  known  as  an  apprentice  in  Mr. 
Waldo's  store  in  Worcester.  He  had  just  returned 
from  New  Connecticut  beyond  Lake  Erie,  where  he 
had  been  with  Messrs.  Phelps,  Mills,  and  others,  making 
a  purchase  of  lands  of  the  Indians.  Grindstones  of  a 
good  quality  are  found  and  manufactured  near  Lake 
Erie,  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Canandaigua. 

July  22d.  To  Hosmer's  in  Hartford,  to  breakfast, 
twelve  and  a  half  miles.  Between  Bloomfield  and 
this,  we  passed  through  Charleston,  which  has  but 
recently  been  reclaimed  from  tJie  wilderness.  It  is 
perfectly  flat,  the  soil  is  pretty  good,  though  better,  and 
more  settled  at  some  distance  from  the  road  than  near 
it.  The  reason  of  cutting  the  road  where  it  goes  was 
because  the  country  in  that  direction  was  open,  when  it 
was  first  explored,  between  this  place  and  Lake  Ontario, 
which  is  but  twenty-eight  miles  distant,  or  to  Gerunde- 
gut  [now  Toronto]  Bay,  but  twenty-two  miles.  Cider 
was  made  last  year  in  great  quantities  ;  and  a  single 
orchard  in  Charleston  produced  apples  sufficient  for  one 
hundred  barrels,  but  the  owner  sold  off  the  apples. 

There  is  not  so  plentiful  a  growth  of  fruit  this  year. 

Different  kinds  of  plum-trees,  some  of  which  are  niucli 

6 


42  JOURNAL  OF  A 

esteemed,  are  found  here  also  in  a  wild  state.  We 
crossed  in  this  stage  the  [here  is  a  break  in  the  MS.] 
lakes,  and  falls  into  the  Genesee  River. 

Deer  are  jdenty  here  yet.  One  man  not  long  since 
killed  seven  without  changing  his  place :  one  of  them 
Avas  a  doe,  and  the  others  bucks.  The  hunter  killed 
the  doe  first,  and  the  others  one  by  one  afterwards : 
when  he  fired,  those  he  did  no^  ^dll  would  start  off  a 
little  ways,  but  soon  return. 

In  the  town  of  Pittsford,  which  adjoins  Charleston  on 
the  north,  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient  fort  constructed 
with  stone  and  earth,  the  length  of  which  is  upwards  of 
one  hundred  feet.  On  the  walls,  trees  are  no\v  growing 
upwards  of  eighteen  inches  over  ;  one  hundred  and  fifty 
grains  were  counted  in  one  which  was  cut  down  last 
year.  The  Indians  have  no  knowledge  by  whom  the 
fort  Avas  built.  Hitherto  we  have  found  better  roads 
since  we  left  the  turnpike  than  l)efore,  except  that  the 
bridges  and  causeways  are  mostly  constructed  with 
poles.  Hosmer,  our  landlord,  is  an  intelligent  man  and 
keeps  a  good  tavern.  We  had  for  breakfast  good  coffee, 
excellent  tea,  loaf  sugar,  mutton  chop,  waffles,  berry 
pie,  preserved  berries,  excellent  bread,  butter,  and  a 
salad  of  young  onions.  I  mention  the  particulars,  be- 
cause some  of  the  articles,  or  such  a  collection,  were 
hardly  to  be  expected  in  such  a  depth  of  wilderness. 

To  Gansen's  in  Southampton,  twelve  and  a  half 
miles,  to  dine.  Within  about  a  mile  of  Hosmer's,  we 
passed  the  Genesee  River.  The  outlet  of  the  Conesus 
Lake  joins  this  river  about  a  mile  above,  or  to  the  south. 
Where  we  crossed,  there  is  a  new  bridge,  apparently 
Htrong   and  well  built;  and  yet  the  water  last  spring 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  43 

inidernilned  one  end  of  it,  so  that  it  has  sunk  consideici- 
blv.  The  river  liere  is  about  the  size  of  the  Nasluia, 
but  more  rapid.  The  water  is  very  muddy,  of  a  chiy  or 
ash  color.  The  interval,  which  is  on  the  west  side,  is 
more  than  a  mile  wide.  It  belongs  to  some  Indians  of 
the  Seneca  tribe,  who  live  near  it  in  log  liuts. 

In  a  time  of  flood,  the  water  covers  tlie  whole  inter- 
val. After  rising  from  the  interval,  the  country  for  six 
or  eight  miles  is  one  unvaried  and  almost  unbroken 
plain.  No  cultivation  or  settlements  are  to  be  seen,  save 
a  few  miserable  log  huts  scattered  at  great  distances, 
around  which  are  smallpatches  of  cleared  ground  ;  nor 
does  the  country  appear  inviting.  The  growth,  it  is 
true,  is  mostly  of  oak  ;  but  the  trees  are  not  large,  and 
are  few  in  number.  Tiiere  is  an  undergrowth  of  young 
trees ;  but  tliey  do  not  prevent  one  from  seeing,  so  as  to 
distinguish  a  man  in  almost  any  direction,  at  the  distance 
of  forty  or  fifty  rods.  The  soil  is  thin,  intermixed  with 
crumbled  limestone.  In  fact,  for  the  last  four  or  five 
miles,  the  stone  rises  above  ground  in  large  masses,  and 
scarce  any  water  is  to  be  seen  from  the  (ienesee  River  to 
this  place,  exce2)t  the  Big  Spring,  so  called.  This  is  four 
or  five  rods  north  of  tlie  road,  at  a  place  lately  called 
Caledonia  (although  the  township  of  Southampton),  in 
consequence  of  a  few  Scotch  families  having  erected 
there  log  huts,  where  they  still  live  around  the  spring, 
and  a  mill  is  constantly  turned  by  it,  without  any  supply 
from  any  other  quarter.  Upon  the  whole,  the  country 
between  the  interval  and  Gansen's  is  the  most  tiresome 
and  the  poorest  we  had  seen  after  leaving  Utica.  While 
we  were  at  dinner,  there  was  a  copious  shower,  attended 
with  ver}'  heavy  thunder.  An  old  man  told  us  that  the 
shower  came  off  Lake  Erie. 


44  JOURNAL   OF   A 

Gansen's  is  a  miserable  \o<x  house.  AVe  made  out  to 
obtain  an  ordinary  dinner.  Our  hmdlord  was  drunk, 
tbe  liouse  was  crowded  with  a  dozen  workmen,  reeking 
witli  rain  and  sweat,  and  we  were,  withal,  constantly 
annoyed  with  the  jdaintive  and  frightful  cries  and 
screams  of  a  crazy  woman,  in  the  next  room.  We  has- 
tened our  departure,  therefore,  even  before  the  rain  had 
ceased. 

To  Russell's  in  Batavia,  twelve  miles,  to  sleep.  One 
mile  from  Gansen's,  we  crossed  Allen's  Creek,  at  Butter- 
milk Falls,  where  there  are  mills,  and  five  miles  further 
the  Chookawoonga  Creek,  near  the  eastern  transit  line 
of  the  Holland  purchase.  This  line  extends  from  the 
bounds  of  Pennsylvania  to  Lake  Ontario,  a  distance  of 
near  ninety-four  miles.  So  far,  the  road  was  the  worst  of 
any  we  had  seen  ;  and  none  can  be  much  worse  and  be 
passable  for  wheels.  Within  six  miles  of  Batavia,  tlie 
road  is  much  better,  and  the  land  of  a  good  quality, 
heavily  timbered  all  the  w^ay,  but  especially  near  the 
settlement.  It  is  but  three  yeai-s  since  this  spot  was  first 
cleared,  and  it  is  now  a  considerable  village.  Here  is 
a  large  building,  nearl}'  finished,  intended  for  a  court- 
house, jail,  and  hotel,  under  the  same  roof.  The  street 
is  perfectly  level,  and  is  already  a  good  and  smooth  road. 
Here  is  also  an  c-'-'^ellent  mill,  on  a  large  and  commo- 
dious scale,  situated  on  the  Tonawanda  Creek,  which  is 
the  first  water  we  saw  which  passes  over  Niagara  Falls. 
Russell's  is  a  poor  tavern.  We  were  told  that  our  sheets 
were  clean,  for  they  had  been  slept  in  but  a  few  times 
since  thev  w^ere  washed. 

July  2-Jd.  To  Luke's  in  Batavia,  to  breakfast,  five 
miles.    We  intended  to  have  stopped  at  McCraken's,  one 


TOl'll   TO   NIAOAIIA   FALLS.  45 

mile  short  (u  tliis,  but  we  were  told  that  we  could  not  he 
acconiniodiited.  I'he  exterior  appearance  of  l)()th  houses 
was  very  much  alike  ;  they  are  log  huts,  about  twelve 
feet  square.  Luke's  consisted  of  a  single  room,  with  a 
small  lean-to  behind,  which  served  for  a  kitchen.  It 
contained  scarce  any  furniture,  not  even  utensils  enough 
to  serve  us  comfortably  for  breakfast.  His  wife,  withal, 
was  sick  in  bed  while  we  were  there,  and  the}'  had  next 
to  nothing:  in  the  world  to  eat.  With  the  addition  of 
some  tea,  ham,  and  bread,  which  we  ourselves  liad 
brought,  we  at  length  made  out  a  breakfast. 

It  was  but  eighteen  months  since  Luke  bef^an  a  settle- 
ment  here,  and  he  was  the  first  who  made  the  attempt  be- 
tween Batavia  and  Vandevener*s,  a  distance  of  eighteen 
miles,  though  in  that  distance  now  there  are  several 
huts.  Taverns  like  Luke's  are  not  uncommon  in  this 
vicinity  ;  almost  every  hut  we  saw  had  a  sign  hung  out 
on  a  pole  or  stump,  announcing  that  it  was  an  inn. 
Perhaps  such  complete  poverty  did  not  exist  in  them  all 
as  we  found  at  Luke's,  yet,  judging  from  external  ap-  ■ 
pearances,  the  difference  could  not  be  great. 

We  passed  the  Tonawanda  near  Batavia  court-house,  - 
and  then  kept  along  its  southern  bank  to  this  place.  ! 
The  woods  are  full  of  new  settlers.  Axes  were  re- 
soundii>g,  and  the  trees  literally  falling  about  us  as  we 
passed.  In  one  instance,  we  were  obliged  to  pass  in  a 
field  throuG^h  the  smoke  and  flame  of  the  trees  which 
had  lately  been  felled  Mid  were  just  fired. 

To  Vandevener's  in  Willink,  thirteen  miles.  We  had 
intended  only  to  dine  here  ;  but  by  reason  of  a  thunder 
shower,  and  the  temptation  of  comfortable  accommoda- 
tions, we  concluded  not  to  proceed  till  next  day.     Our 


46  JOUllNAL   OF  A 

last  stage  was  through  the  Batavia  woods,  famed  for  their 
liorrors,  wliich  were  not  abated  b  our  having  been  in- 
formed  at  Russell's,  that  not  far  from  here  a  white  man 
had  lately  been  killed  by  the  Indians.  We  found  the 
road  much  better  than  we  had  anticipated  ;  the  last  four 
miles  were  the  worst.  A  little  labor  would  make  the  road 
all  very  good,  at  least  in  dry  weather.  There  is  anotlier 
way  to  come  from  I^atavia  here  ;  but  it  is  six  miles  fur- 
ther, and  probably  little  or  no  better  than  this. 

It  was  but  tliree  years  since  Vandevener  began  here. 
He  at  first  built  a  log  house,  but  he  has  now  a  two-story 
framed  house,  adjoining  that.  His  whole  territory  is  five 
hundred  acres,  one  hundred  of  which  he  has  alread}"  got 
under  improvement.  About  five  miles  before  coming  to 
A^andevener's,  we  passed  Murder  Creek,  which  soon 
after  falls  into  the  Tonawanda.  In  the  beds  of  both  these 
creeks,  we  found  a  dark-i-olored,  slate-like  stone,  which, 
upon  being  fresh  broken,  afforded  a  strong  sea-coal  or 
amber  smell,  but  more  fetid.  When  much  heated,  it 
affords  a  pitchy  flame.  It  is  called  stink  stone.  Tiie 
timber  in  these  woods  is  very  heav^y,  and  consists  chiefly 
of  oak,  ash,  elm,  hendock,  birch,  rock-maple,  and  bass, 
or  lime-tree. 

About  thirty  rods  westward  irom  Vandevener's,  the 
road  passes  in  a  longitudinal  direction  directly  through 
the  remains  of  an  ancient  fort,  the  site  of  which  is  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and  perhaps  two  thirds 
as  wide.  The  wall  or  mound  of  earth  and  stone  with 
which  it  was  constructed  is  now  nearly  entitle,  except 
where  passages  have  been  cut  for  the  road,  and  where 
a  part  of  it  has  been  levelled  to  make  a  garden  spot, 
near  a  log  house  which  stands  within  it.     A  ditch  runs 


TOUR   TC     s'AGARA   FALLS.  47 

all  round  the  wall  on  the  outside,  except  at  the  gates 
of  which  there  were  four,  facing  the  four  cardinal  points. 
Where  the  road  is  cut  through  the  wall,  we  ol)served 
pieces  of  charcoal,  and,  turning  up  the  fresh  earth  with 
tlie  foot,  we  discovered  some  that  had  not  before  been 
uncovered.  The  growth  of  timber  within  and  even  on 
the  wall  is  the  same  as  elsewhere.  We  counted  the 
grains  of  an  oak  which  grew  exactly  upon  the  summit, 
to  the  number  o.  one  liundred  and  thirty;  and  of  a  but- 
ton-wood, wliicli  had  stood  near  the  summit,  to  a  much 
greater  number,  although  a  considerable  part  of  the 
wood,  near  tiie  h(  art  of  the  tree,  was  decayed  and  gone. 
The  whole  enclosure  is  about  three  acres. 

Similar  remains  are  said  to  be  found  in  several  other 
places  in  this  region,  some  of  whicli  are  of  much  greater 
dimenf'ions.  There  is  one  in  particular  at  the  Chestnut 
Ridge,  so  called,  about  fifteen  miles  north-eastward  from 
this  place,  wliich  encloses  sixteen  acres.  These  forts 
are  all  situated  on  a  ridge  or  precipice,  whicli  extends 
from  the  south-west  to  tlie  north-east,  the  limits  of 
which  have  perhaps  never  been  ascertained.  It  passes 
along  in  front,  i.e.  to  the  north,  from  Vandevener's  house, 
at  the  distance  of  about  tliirty  rods  ;  and  he  informed  us 
tliat  it  extended  eastward  to  the  Chestnut  iiidge,  and 
tliat  it  there  divided,  one  branch  going  from  thence  to 
(^)ueensto\vn,  on  Niagara  River  westwardly,  where  tlie 
great  falls  are  supposed  once  to  liave  been,  and  tlie 
other  passing  on  still  eastward,  and  intersecting  the 
Genesee  River,  at  the  remarkable  fulls  in  that  stream. 
He  added  that  the  same  ridge  was  traced  westwaid  to 
within  three,  two,  and  even  half  a  mile  of  Lake  Erie, 
of  which  it  seemed  to  constitute  a  second  sliore.     We 


48  JOUJINAL  OF   A 

examined  tlie  vid^e  near  V^indevener's  house,  and  found 
it  to  ]je  but  a  few  fe(;t  above  the  level  of  the  country 
iniiiiediately  soutliward  from  it;  but  to  the  north  it  is 
a  precipice  of  nearly  one  hundred  feet  hijili,  about  half 
of  which  is  generally  perpendicular  for  twenty  feet  or 
more  from  the  summit  downwards.  This  ridge  is  a 
mass  of  solid  limestone,  somewhat  projecting  over,  and 
exhil)iting  the  usual  appearance  of  rock  which  had  for 
a  great  length  of  time  been  worn  ])y  the  dashing  of  the 
water.  On  digging  a  foot,  or  two,  or  three,  into  the 
ground  at  the  bottom  of  the  ju'ecipice,  you  everywhere 
find  clean  beach  sand,  such  as  is  found  on  the  beach  of 
the  lakes.  Most  of  the  rock  seems  to  be  composed  of 
the  petrified  sliells,  and  even  of  the  very  substance,  of 
shell-fish.  I'hese  petrifactions  are  not  only  to  be  seen 
on  the  surface,  but  we  found  them  in  the  verv  substance 
of  large  stones,  which  we  broke  for  tliat  purpose.  From 
the  foot  of  the  precipice  the  surface  of  the  earth  still 
descends  considerably  for  near  half  a  mile,  and  from 
thence  the  face  of  the  country  is  generallv  level  to 
Niagara  Itiver.  If  water  once  flowed  up  to  this  preci- 
pice, as  from  appearances  which  it  exhibits  cannot  be 
doubted,  the  forts  before  si)oken  of  were  all  commo- 
diously  situated  on  peninsulas  or  points  of  land  project- 
ing into  t)ie  water,  and  having  each  a  communication 
with  the  main  by  a  neck  of  land. 

The  necessary  inference  from  these  facts  seems  to  be 
that  the  Falls  of  Niagara  were  once  at  Queenstown,  and 
that  they  have  not  only  receded  seven  or  eight  miles  to 
their  present  site;,  but  that  they  are  now  much  less  than 
they  originally  were  ;  that  by  forcing  away  a  pait  of 
the  rock  ]>y  which   they  were  once  confnied,  they  have 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  49 

flowed  off  so  as  to  drain  the  country  from  this  ridge  to 
the  present  shore  of  Lake  Erie ;  and,  if  the  lake  has  sub- 
sided, Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  being  now  upon  the 
same  level,  must  have  undergone  the  same  change. 
This  event  must  have  happened  a  great  length  of  time 
ago. 

The  gi  Avth  of  timber  where  the  water  must  once 
have  flowed  is  now  the  same,  both  as  to  kind  and  size, 
as  elsewhere ;  and  the  soil  where  the  beach  originally 
was  is  now  from  one  to  three  feet  deep  above  the  sand. 

No  tradition  exists  among  the  Indians  upon  this  sub- 
ject. They  are  wholly  ignorant  as  to  the  origin  and 
particular  use  of  the  forts,  and  express  equal  surprise 
upon  the  subject  with  the  v/hites.  Their  existence 
before  the  draining  off  of  the  water  may  possibly  be 
thought  to  prove  the  peopling  of  this  country  at  a 
period  much  earlier  than  has  commonly  been  assigned 
to  that  event. 

July  23d.  To  Ransom's  in  Erie,  to  breakfiist,  four- 
teen miles.  Ransom  came  from  Great  Barringtoii  in 
Massachusetts,  and  settled  here  last  September.  Mak- 
ing proper  allowances,  we  fared  very  well  at  his  house. 
About  two  and  a  half  miles  after  leaving  Yandeve- 
ner's,  we  descended  the  ridge  spoken  of  in  yesterday's 
journal,  and,  having  travelled  about  half  a  mile  on  lower 
ground,  ascended  it  again.  The  appearance  of  it  at  both 
these  places  confirmed  the  opinion  already  formed  re- 
si)ecting  it.  We  next  came  to  a  plain,  extending  with 
very  little  interruption  to  Ellicott's,  on  Twelve  Mile 
Creek. 

This  plain,  when  first  explored,  was,  and  still  con- 
tinues to  be,  remarkably  free  from  trees.     Hundreds  of 

7 


50  JOUKNAL   OF   A 

acres  may  be  seen  togetlier,  on  wliich  there  is  scaice 
a  single  tree,  there  being  at  most  but  an  oak  or  a  pophir 
or  two,  scattered  at  great  distances.  The  earth  liere 
is  covered  with  small  willow  bushes,  brakes,  butterfly 
plant,  Oswego  bitter  or  French  balm.  Convolvulus 
majot\  wild  grass,  and  stiawberry  vines,  with  very 
young  trees  not  more  than  knecThigh.  In  many  of 
these  open  grounds,  a  man  may  be  seen  at  the  distance 
of  two  miles.  There  are  patches  of  trees  interspeised 
among  these  open  grounds.  They  are  of  the  same  kind 
as  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  neighboring  country,  and 
are  of  various  extent ;  but  in  geneial  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  v»  ood  enough  growing  on  this  i)lain  for  the  accom- 
modation of  its  future  inhabitants.  At  i)resent,  there 
are  but  a  few  log  huts  upon  it,  and  they  are  scattered 
at  the  distance  of  from  half  a  mile  to  four  or  five  miles 
a})art.  Glancing  the  eye  over  these  open  grounds,  they 
look  like  a  settled  and  cultivated  country  ;  but  the  want 
of  houses  and  fences  and  more  especially  the  solemn 
stillness  that  prevails  over  them,  admonish  you  that  you 
are  in  a  wilderness. 

Various  conjectures  are  indulged  as  to  the  scarcity  of 
trees  ;  but  the  most  probable  is  that  it  has  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  Indians  repeatedly  firing  whatever  would 
burn  here,  so  that  the  tender  grass,  afterwards  springing 
up,  might  entice  the  deer  and  other  game  out  into  a  situ- 
ation where  they  would  be  exposed  to  the  hunter.  What 
serves  to  confirm  this  opinion  is  that  frequent  appearance 
of  charcoal  and  burnt  sticks,  and  the  abundance  of  young 
trees  which  are  now  shooting  up.  Wherever  groves  of 
trees  are  yet  standing,  it  may  be  seen  that  they  were 
probably  protected  by  the  interposition  of  a  stream   of 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  51 

water,  or  by  the  dampness  of  the  soil  where  they  grow. 
We  saw  no  animals  on  this  plain,  exco.pt  the  cattle  of 
the  settlers,  which  are  pastnred  upon  it.  The  last  three 
miles  from  Ellicott's  Creek  to  Kansom's  is  a  new  road 
cut  through  a  thick  wood,  and  is  as  bad  as  any  part  of 
the  road  through  the  Ihitavia  woods. 

To  Crow's  at  Buffalo  Creek,  eight  miles.  In  this 
stage,  we  passed  the  Four  Mile  Creek.  Half  the  dis- 
tance from  Ransom's  was  over  open  country,  of  the  kind 
already  described,  in  which  many  young  chestnut-trees 
are  just  sprouting  from  the  ground.  The  rest  of  our 
way  was  through  a  thick  wood,  where  the  growth  is 
the  same  kind  as  in  the  interior  of  ^Massachusetts.  At 
Crow's,  we  could  procure  nothing  for  refreslnnent.  The 
settlement  is  a  village  containing  about  thirty  shabby 
houses,  very  much  rcseml)ling  baiiacks.  It  is  situated 
at  the  south-eastern  extremitv  of  Lake  Erie,  on  a  risincf 
ground,  which  forms  the  eastern  bank  of  Buffalo  Creek. 
An  old  Indian  told  us  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  place 
derive  their  jaincipal  support  from  the  Indians,  wlio 
here  receive  from  the  agents  of  government  their  annual 
allowance,  no  small  part  of  wluch  they  /erysoon  appro- 
priate. The  Buffalo  Creek,  at  its  mouth,  is  about  the 
size  of  the  Ilousatonic  at  Sheffield  ;  it  is  a  lazy  and 
muddy  stream.  Crow  informed  us  that  a  strong  west- 
erly wind  forces  the  water  of  Lake  Erie  witii  such  vio- 
lence on  its  eastern  sliore,  which  is  a  kind  of  bav  not  more 
than  three  or  four  miles  wide,  as  to  raise  a  tide,  some- 
times ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  Nature,  hovrever,  has 
opposed  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  its  encroachments 
in  this  direction.  The  countrv  for  three  or  four  miles 
immediately  to  the  eastward   is   considerilbly  elevated 


52  JOURNAL   OF  A 

and  rather  liilly.  On  account  of  the  Avoods,  the  lake  is 
not  to  be  seen  by  a  traveller  from  the  east,  till  he  comes 
within  about  a  mile  of  the  beach.  Fatigued  as  such  a 
one  must  long  have  been  with  the  narrow  and  dreary 
scenes  presented  by  a  cheerless  wilderness,  it  must  be 
difficult  to  refrain  from  expressions  of  rapture  at  the 
noble  prospect  which  here  expands  to  his  view.  On 
the  southern  shore,  we  could  discern  distant  promonto- 
ries and  high  lands,  which  advance  pretty  far  into  tl»e 
lake,  but  are  at  length  lost  in  the  south-west ;  from 
thence  to  the  north-west,  the  horizon  is  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  sky  and  water.  Towards  the  outlet,  the 
northern  or  Canada  shore,  with  the  British  Fort  Erie, 
is  in  full  view.  Five  or  six  vessels  were  Ivino-  in  the 
harbor,  near  the  fort,  when  we  wore  there.  On  account 
of  a  shower  that  had  fallen  the  day  before,  their  sails 
were  extended  to  dry.  One  of  them  was  a  twenty  gun 
ship,  whose  tall  masts  and  swelling  canvas  seemed  to 
announce  a  conscious  pride  in  navigating  inland  seas  of 
such  extent. 

It  has  been  a  generally  received  opinion,  especially 
among  foreign  naturalists,  that  flint  was  not  a  produc- 
tion of  the  American  continent :  we  met  with  it,  how- 
ever, in  large  masses  on  the  beach  of  Lake  Erie-,  and  of 
an  excellent  quality.  An  old  Indian  told  us  that  there 
people  used  it  for  their  guns,  and  that  it  was  surer  to 
strike  fire  than  the  imported  flint,  which  he  said  was 
greasy.  We  here  also  found  great  quantities  of  clean, 
shining,  red  and  black  sand,  proper  for  stationers'  use. 
Thirty  or  forty  miles  up  the  Buffalo  Creek,  there  are  oil 
stones,  so  called.  They  lie  loose,  like  other  stones,  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  some  of  them  weighing  forty 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  53 

pounds.  The  under  side  appears  greasy.  On  breaking 
them,  an  oil  appears  to  be  contained  in  little  cells  within 
the  stone,  not  in  a  liquid  state,  but  of  the  consistence  of 
hog's  lard  ;  it  has  a  strong  fetid  smell.  The  oil  is  not  to 
be  collected  from  these  stones  in  any  considerable  quan- 
tities ;  but  if  it  be  the  petroleum,  which  is  found  in  the 
farther  peninsula  of  India,  and  in  some  parts  of  Europe, 
it  might  probably  be  obtained  in  greater  abundance  by 
sinking  wells  for  it  to  collect  in,  as  is  practised  in  those 
countries. 

From  Buffalo  we  passed  along  the  beach  of  Lake 
Erie,  to  the  ferry  across  its  outlet  on  the  Niagara  River, 
at  Black  Rock,  so  called,  three  miles.  We  were  here 
detained  more  than  an  hour,  waiting  the  pleasure  of  the 
ferryman  ;  he  was  at  his  house,  about  a  mile  down  the 
river.  As  he  well  knew  we  could  not  pass  without  his 
assistance,  he  probably  concluded  that  he  should  lose 
nothing  by  delay.  AV^hen  at  length  he  arrived,  we  were 
almost  deterred  from  attempting  the  passage  on  account 
of  the  wretched  machine  in  which  we  were  to  be  trans- 
ported. It  was  a  crazy  flat-bottomed  boat,  with  low 
sides,  constructed  at  first  of  thin  plank,  and  which  had 
apparently  begun  to  decay.  In  this  slender  vehicle, 
navigated  by 'a  drunken  Irishman,  who  commanded  an 
Indian  and  a  negro  wench,  who  seemed  to  be  much  the 
ablest  hand  of  the  three,  were  to  be  consigned  ourselves, 
with  our  driver,  horses,  wagon,  and  loading,  across  the 
most  formidable  feny,  perhaps,  in  the  world ;  a  stream 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep, 
and  running  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour.  Having 
no  alternative,  however,  we  embarked.  Fortunately,  a 
fresh  breeze  was  blowing  up-streara,;which,  by  the  means 


54  JOURNAI.  OF  A 

of  a  ragged  sail  fastened  to  a  pole,  enabled  us  not  only 
to  resist  the  current,  but  to  make  such  progress  that  in 
nine  minutes  we  reached  the  opposite  shore  in  safety. 
We  were  now,  for  the  first  time  with  all  of  us  but  one, 
in  the  British  dominions.  After  landing,  we  passed 
down  the  river  about  a  mile.  To  Wintermote's,  to  dine  ; 
from  Black  Rock,  two  miles.  The  mistress  of  the  house 
expressed  her  regret  that  she  could  not  accommodate  us 
better,  but  by  way  of  excuse  said  that  the  soldiers  had 
breakfasted  there,  and  had  eaten  them  out.  We  after- 
wards learned  that  the  soldiers  she  spoke  of  were  a  body 
of  fresh  troops,  passing  up  to  relieve  some  of  tlie  garri- 
sons beyond  Lake  Erie.  We  were  served  with  the  water 
of  the  river  to  drink  with  our  dinner,  and  now  learned 
for  the  first  lime  that  the  inhabitants  of  these  regions 
use  no  other.  The  water  is  remarkably  pure  and  pala- 
tahle.  AVhea  we  first  tasted  it,  the  temperature,  which 
was  upwards  of  70°,  made  it  rather  unpleasant;  but, 
four  or  five  hours  afterwards,  we  drank  it  cooled  with 
ice,  and  found  it  very  grateful. 

From  Wintermote's,  we  travelled  down  the  river  to 
Stevens's  at  Chippeway,  a  very  good  liouse,  fifteen  miles. 
The  road  lies  fill,  the  way  on  the  river  bank.  Two  or 
three  miles  below  Black  liock,  the  water  di^L  es,  and 
having  encompassed  an  island,  called  "  Grand  Isle," 
which  is  two  or  three  miles  wide  and  six  or  eight  long, 
it  again  unites  some  ways  above  Chippeway.  From  this 
reunion,  the  stream  for  several  miles  is  near  two  miles 
in  width,  and  flows  with  an  uncommonly  graceful  and 
majestic  current.  Riding  along  its  shore,  the  mind  ele- 
vated and  expanded  by  its  magnitude  and  rapidity,  con- 
templates with  wonder  the  mighty  operations  of  nature. 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  .JO 

The  atmosphere  by  evjipomtion,  a  process  which  has 
never  3'et  been  satisfactorily  explained,  silently  drinks 
lier  fill  from  the  ocean,  and  tlieii  through  countless 
pores  discharges  the  liquid  treasure  on  the  earth.  Grav- 
ity is  ever  busy  in  collecting  the  scattered  drops,  and 
restoring  them  to  tlie  abyss  from  whence  they  first  as- 
cended. Certain  as  we  are  of  the  causes,  it  requires  an 
effort  of  the  imagination  to  conceive  how  they  can  pro- 
duce effects  so  great  and  uniform,  that  the  immense 
lakes  of  Canada  were  once  floating  vapors,  and  the  vast 
tribute  which  they  constantly  pay  to  the  ocean  has  in 
the  form  of  clouds  been  the  sport  of  inconstant  winds. 

Nothing  impresses  the  mind  with  a  more  lively  idea 
of  the  extent  of  the  great  Likes  than  the  uniformit}^ 
of  their  elevation,  which  is  not  perceptibly  affected  by 
rains  or  droughts.  So  severe  was  the  drought  this  sum- 
mer, that  we  saw  young  forest  trees,  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  high,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Buffalo  Creek,  where 
the  soil  was  thin  upon  a  bed  of  rock,  which  had  actually 
perished  for  want  of  moisture,  and  yet  the  lake  and 
river  were  at  their  usual  height.  Indeed,  we  were  ex- 
pressly told  that  this  height  was  never  known  to  vary, 
unless  affected  by  the  wind. 

The  general  course  of  the  Niagara  River  is  one  or  two 
points  to  the  westward  of  north.  The  land  on  its  shores 
is  fertile,  but  a  little  elevated  above  the  water,  and 
generally  level.  The  American  shore  is  yet  a  wilder- 
ness; but  the  British  side  is  settled  and  cleared  all  the 
way,  to  the  depth  of  about  one  hundred  rods  from  the 
river  bank.  The  Chippeway  is  in  size  about  half  as  large 
as  the  ^lerrimack  ;  the  land  on  its  banks,  we  were  told,  is 
uncommonly  good,  and  settled  for  thirt}^  miles  or  more 


56  JOURNAL  OF   A 

in  length.  The  waters  of  tlie  Chippeway  are  foul  and 
dark-colored,  and  mix  so  reluctantly  with  the  pure  water 
of  the  Niagara  tliat  the  difference  may  he  discovered 
some  Avays  below  their  junction. 

The  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chippeway  would 
have  been  more  advantageously  situated  a  few  rods 
further  south ;  for,  as  the  inhabitants  use  none  but 
river  water,  and  as  most  of  them  live  below  the  Chippe- 
way, they  must  cross  over  that  stream,  or  go  off  some 
ways  into  the  Niagara  in  a  boat,  to  get  their  water  pure. 
The  familiar  name  of  this  village  among  the  inhabitants 
is  Cliippeway,  but  the  legal  name  of  the  place  is  Stamford. 

As  \V8  travelled  this  afternoon,  we  frequently  stopped 
and  listened,  in  expectation  of  hearing  the  noise  of  the 
(ireat  Falls,  but  we  could  not  hear  them  more  than  four 
or  five  miles  off.  It  is  said  in  certain  states  of  the  at- 
mosphere they  can  je  heard  at  the  distance  of  thirty  or 
forty  miles.  We  discerned  the  small  cloud  of  spray 
wliich  rises  over  them  at  the  distance  of  ten  miles.  It  was 
after  sunset  when  we  reached  Chippeway.  Therefore,  as 
the  cataract  is  two  and  a  half  miles  below,  we  were 
obliged  to  defer  our  visit  till  the  morning.  It  required 
an  effort  of  patience  to  do  this,  for  our  curiosity  increased 
with  our  proximity. 

July  25th.  Having  taken  breakfast,  and  provided 
ourselves  with  a  guide  and  also  a  little  brandy  and  cold 
ham,  and  other  means  of  refreshment,  we  proceeded 
down  the  river.  One  of  our  company  mentioned  the 
remark  of  a  celebrated  traveller,  that,  on  approaching 
the  city  of  Rome,  he  felt  an  involuntary  inclination  to 
run,  lest  otherwise  the  object  should  disappear  before 
his  curiosity  could  be  gratified.     We  reaUzed  a  similar 


TOUB  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  57 

eagerness  in  approaching  the  Cataract  of  Niagara,  and 
dill  not  therefore  at  the  first  visit  pay  so  minute  an  atten- 
tion to  intermediate  objects  as  we  did  afterwards.  The 
river  is  near  two  miles  wide,  till  it  comes  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  the  perpendicular  fall.  It  then  begins  to 
contract  and  to  increase  in  its  rapidity.  A  branch  on 
the  eastern  side,  called  the  Fort  Schlosser  branch,  is  de- 
tached from  the  main  stream  b}'  an  island  of  consider- 
able extent,  situated  in  the  very  rapids,  and  does  not 
reunite  till  it  has  readied  the  bottom  of  the  precipice. 
Besides  this  island,  which  contains  several  acres  of  land 
covered  with  wood,  there  are  six  or  eight  others  in  the 
rai)ids,  Avhich  are  much  smaller,  and  having  but  little 
vegetation  on  them,  being  sand-banks,  occasioned  prob- 
ably b}^  the  particular  form  or  situation  of  the  ledges  of 
rocks.  A  small  branch  of  the  river  bends  into  the  main- 
land on  the  western  shore,  round  one  of  ^hese  islands, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  abate  something  of  the  velocity 
of  the  current,  and  afford  seats  for  a  number  of  mills 
Avhich  are  erected  there,  and  which  might  be  said  to  be 
advantageously  situated,  were  it  not  that  they  are  one 
or  two  hundred  feet  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  that  the  passage  to  and  from 
them  is  rendered  very  difficult  by  the  abruptness  of  the 
declivity  at  the  foot  of  which  they  stand.  This  branch 
of  the  river  forms  almost  a  semi-circle,  and  joins  the 
main  stream  again  about  fifty  rods  above  the  catiiract. 
The  rajjids  between  the  great  island  and  the  eastern 
shore  are  about  a  mile  in  extent.  Considered  either 
across  or  lengthways  of  the  current,  that  whole  extent 
is  a  scene  of  tumult  and  uproar.     The  water  is  broken 

into  milk-white  foam,  which  is  tossed  in  spray  by  the 

8 


58  JOURNAL   OF  A 

conflicting  billows  many  feet  into  the  air.  So  great  is 
the  concussion  against  the  i(Kks  on  the  opposite  side, 
that  we  could  discern  a  constant  cloud  of  va2)or  ascend- 
ing from  the  shore. 

The  grandeur  of  this  scene  is  only  to  be  exceeded  by 
the  ocean,  in  some  of  its  wildest  moods  ;  and,  were  there 
n(>thing  else  in  the  vicinity  worthy  of  attention,  this 
alone  would  be  resorted  to  from  ij^reat  distances  by  the 
curious,  as  a  just  subject  of  wonder  and  astonishment. 

The  descent  in  these  rapids  is  computed  at  fifty  feet. 
Having  surmounted  this  difficulty,  the  river  becomes 
more  calm  and  collected,  as  if  conscious  of  the  achieve- 
ment it  was  about  to  perform.  At  length  contracting 
to  less  than  half  its  former  width,  it  rushes  with  fearless 
impetuosity  over  a  perpendicular  precipice,  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet.  This  descent  has  been  variously  esti- 
mated. It  was  fashionable  a  century  ago  greatly  to 
exaggerate  it ;  and  the  affected  j)recision  of  some  modern 
travellers,  who  state  it  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
feet,  some  of  whom  even  give  a  fraction  of  a  foot,  is 
perfectly  absurd.  The  calculation  does  not  admit  of 
accuracy,  owing  not  so  much  to  the  agitation  of  the 
waters  as  to  the  thick  cloud  of  spray  and  vapor,  which 
conceal  from  the  sight  not  only  the  place  of  concussion, 
but  a  considerable  part  of  the  falling  column.  We  wx^re 
well  satisfied,  from  our  own  observation,  that  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet  could  not  be  fiir  from  the  truth  ; 
and  perhaps  there  are  as  many  who  would  exceed  as 
there  are  who  would  fall  short  of  that  estimate. 

The  depth  of  the  water  in  the  abyss  below  can  never 
be  ascertained,  but  the  deep  thunder  which  proceeds 
from  it  proves  it  to  be  very  great.     The  form  of  the 


TOril    TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  69 

piincipivl  fall,  wliich  is  called  the  Ilorsi'shoe,  is  well 
expressed  by  that  name,  except  that  tlie  aiig^le  wliich 
projects  up-stream  is  more  acute  than  that  formed  at 
the  toe  of  the  Horseshoe,  and,  as  we  ^^  ere  informed,  is 
even  more  acute  than  it  was  one  year  ago.  On  the 
western  bank,  just  at  the  water's  edge  above  the  cata- 
ract, is  a  large  ihit  rock  called  the  Table  Rock,  wdiich  at 
some  period  made  a  part  of  the  river's  bed,  and  from 
whence  one  has  a  very  commanding  view  of  the  raj)ids 
above,  and  of  all  the  falls  below,  except  the  nearest 
fall.  The  depth  to  which  the  water  falls  is  so  great 
that  part  of  it  is  concealed  from  the  view,  before  it 
reaches  the  bottom,  by  the  rock  itself.  We  all  of  us 
made  several  attempts  to  throw  a  stone  from  this  rock 
so  far  into  the  water  below  that  we  might  see  it  strike, 
but  none  of  us  could  effect  it. 

The  Table  Rock  affords  almost  a  faint  view  of  the 
"  Fort  Scldosser  Fall,"  so  called,  which  is  beyond  the 
island  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river.  The  water  in 
that  fall  is  of  a  snowy  whiteness,  more  so  than  at 
the  Horseshoe,  because,  thougli  the  ([uantity  is  probably 
not  a  quarter  part  so  great,  yet  it  is  full  half  as  wide. 
The  fall  there,  too,  is  twent}'  feet  greater,  and  is  more 
e.  :actly  per[)endicular,  because  the  water  descends  less  in 
the  rapids  above,  and  therefore  approaches  the  precipice 
with  less  velocity.  Following  the  edge  of  the  precipice 
from  shore  to  shore,  the  whole  extent  is  about  a  mile  ; 
two  parts  of  which  are  occupied  by  the  Horseshoe,  one 
by  the  island,  and  one  by  the  Fort  Schlosser  Fall.  The 
distance  directly  across  is  not  probably  more  than  two 
thirds  as  far. 

The  lower  side  of  the  isUnd,  wliich  coincides  with  the 


GO  JOURNAL  OF   A 

line  of  the  falls,  is  of  the  same  perpendicular  elevation, 
and  of  solid  rock.  Having,  according  to  custom,  exam- 
ined this  wonderful  phenomenon  from  the  Table  Rock, 
we  proceeded  down  tlie  river  to  the  pLace  wliere,  by  the 
help  of  a  ladder,  it  is  practicable  to  descend  to  the  edge 
of  the  water  below  the  fall.  To  comprehend  this  diffi- 
cultv,  one  must  know  that  from  the  foot  of  the  fall  to 
the  village  of  Queenstown,  seven  or  eight  miles  down- 
stream, the  river  flows  in  a  kind  of  canal  or  trench,  the 
banks  or  sides  of  which  are  of  solid  rock,  of  the  same 
elevation  at  first  as  the  precipice  at  the  fall,  and  tliis 
elevation  gradually  increases  as  the  water  sinks  in  ita 
course.  These  banks  some  ways  from  the  bottom  are 
perpendicular,  but  near  tiie  top  they  project  towards 
the  river  so  much  that  the  Ta])le  Rock  itself  is  thought 
to  extend  near  four  rods  beyond  the  sides  of  the  rock 
which  supports  it  underneath. 

The  ladder  above  mentioned  is  called  the  Simcoe 
Ladder,  because  it  was  provided  by  order  of  the  lady  of 
the  late  governor  of  that  name.  It  is  situated  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  below  the  Table  Rock,  at  a  place 
where  the  bank  does  not  project  so  much  as  at  most 
other  places,  and  where  there  is  a  mass  of  the  fallen 
rock  for  its  foot  to  rest  on,  from  whence  one  may  make 
his  way  to  the  river.  The  passage  of  this  ladder  is  by 
some  thought  to  be  so  perilous  that  they  forego  their 
curiosity  rather  than  attempt  it.  This  actually  hap- 
pened with  a  gentleman  who  was  there  about  an  hour 
before  us.  The  ladder  is  placed  edgeways  against  the 
bank,  a  little  declining  from  a  perpendicular  direction. 
It  is  but  poorly  secured  to  some  small  trees  at  the  top 
by  pieces  of  old  iron  hoops,  and  the  bottom  rests  on  a 


TOUR  TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  61 

rock.  After  you  liave  descended  a  few  feet,  3011  per- 
ceive that  tlie  bank  from  whence  yon  stepped  on  the 
ladder  projects,  and  that  you  seem  to  be  suspended  in 
tlie  air.  From  tlie  foot  of  the  bidder,  the  approach  to 
the  foot  of  tlie  falls  is  rendered  extremely  difficult  by 
tlie  immense  and  irregular  masses  of  rock  which  have 
fallen  from  the  side, and  a  e^uide  is  necessarv  to  conduct 
you.  For  notwithstanding  that  the  fall  for  the  most 
part  is  full  in  view,  yet  the  path  is  sometimes  through 
fissures  of  rock  or  between  detached  frauinents,  from 
whence  a  stranger  would  find  it  difficult  to  extricate 
liimself ;  and,  should  he  deviate  too  much  towards  the 
river,  he  would  be  in  danger,  from  the  slippery  state  of 
the  rocks  occasioned  by  the  s])ray,  of  falling  into  the 
water. 

The  beach,  if  it  may  be  called  such,  is  from  one  to 
ten  rods  wide,  and  consists  entirely  of  loose  rocks.  The 
passage  along  tliis  beach  would  be  comparatively  i)leas- 
aiit,  were  it  not  for  the  distressing  apprehension,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  sui)press,  that  otiier  fragments  of  the 
rock  may  fall  from  the  precipice  over  your  head,  while 
you  are  passing.  The  I'ock  which  constitutes  the  bank 
is  disposed  in  strata,  the  U[)per  and  principal  of  wiiich 
are  of  limestone,  others  are  of  slate,  no  freestone  or 
granite.  Many  other  mineral  substances  are  to  be  ob- 
served in  it  ;  and  streams  of  pure  sulphur  ooze  from 
crevices  of  the  vc^-m  in  several  i)laces,  and  leave  a  yel- 
low concretion  on  the  wall  from  thence  to  the  bottom. 

Having,  whi'3  yet  at  a  good  distance,  prepared  our- 
selves to  be  wet,  by  leaving  all  our  surplus  clothing  on 
a  rock,  we  proceeded  towards  tlie  foot  of  the  rock.  Our 
first  attempt  was  to  ascertain  liow  far  it  was  practicable, 


62  JOUPwNAL   OF   A 

as  some  travellers  have  affected  to  get  between  the  fall- 
ing water  and  the  rock  behind  it.  We  accordingly 
passed  along  close  to  the  perpendicular  side,  as  far  as 
we  thought  it  prudent,  much  further  than  it  was  con- 
venient, and  we  believed  as  far,  at  least  within  a  very 
few  feet,  as  it  is  practicable  to  go.  We  might,  perhaps, 
with  propriety  say  that  tlie  very  edge,  the  feather  edge  of 
the  water,  poured  over  our  heads,  and  fell  in  front  of  us. 
But  the  spray  was  as  profuse  as  rain  in  the  most  copious 
sliowers  ;  and  a  storm  of  wind,  which  {)erpetually  rushes 
from  beliind  tin?  falling  column,  once  de[)rive(I  us  of 
breath  by  its  violence,  and  of  hight,  by  dashing  tlie  water 
into  our  eyes.  We  could  perceivx*,  however,  behind  the 
column  it  was  dark,  and  we  were  moreover  treading 
ui)on  a  shelving  mass  of  crumbled  slate,  wliicli  would 
scarcely  su[)port  us,  which  was  so  mixed  with  the  water 
that  live  eels*  were  actually  moving  about  between  our 
feet,  and  a  false  stej),  or  sudden  precipice  which  we  might 
not  be  able  to  discern,  would  have  plunged  us  where 
notliing  could  have  saved  us  from  instant  destruction. 
From  these  considerations,  it  will  readilv  be  l>elieved 
that  !*ot  many  adventurers  have  proceeded  further, 
and  none  much  fujther,  than  we  did  ;  and,  as  it  could 
not  witli  any  pro[)riety  of  speecli  l)e  said  that  we  v>'ere 
^v^'tween  tlie  river  and  tlie  rock  over  wliich  it  pours,  by 
several  rods,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed  that  such  a  notion 
is  altogether  chimerical.  Indeed,  were  there  a  firm  foun- 
dation to  travel  on  behind  the  water,  and  could  one  witli 
safety  be  placed  there,  it  would  require  a  miracle  to  pre- 

*  Major  Willijiins  picke<l  up  one  of  these  eels,  and  Itrou^^lit  it  away  in 
I'.is  pocket.  They  were  sniali  and  lig' t-colored,  and  seemingly  of  a  sary 
delicate  texture. 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  63 

vent  his  Ijeiiig  immediately  suffocated.  T'einj:^  satisfied, 
therefore,  u[)oii  this  point,  we  retired  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  tempest,  to  a  place  where  we  could  leisurely  con- 
temphite  the  scene  around  us.  When  the  wind  is  favor- 
able  for  driving  off  the  cloud  which  rises  from  the  centre 
of  th(i  Horseshoe,  much  more  of  the  cataract  mav  he 
seen  than  at  other  times.  The  wind  was  not  in  the 
most  favfjrable  state  wliile  we  were  there.  The  view, 
nevertheless,  was  exceeding  grand  and  imi)ressive,  much 
more  so  than  from  the  Table  Rock.  Above, it  is  true,  you 
can  see  the  whole  descent  of  tlie  water,  by  observing  a 
part  of  the  column  at  some  distance  from  you  ;  but  that 
distance  dirninislies  its  apparent  heiglit  and  velocity,  and 
below,  you  see  with  most  distinctness  that  part  of  the 
column  which  is  nearest  to  you,  and  which  falls  almost 
at  your  feet. 

Above,  therefore,  you  can  hardly  persuade  yourself 
that  the  fall  is  so  great  as  it  is,  but  below,  the  river 
seems  literally  to  proceed  out  from  the  clouds.  The 
n(jise  also,  which  upon  the  Table  Hock  is  a  heavy  roar,  is 
so  intense  below  that  it  is  difficult  to  carry  on  conversa- 
tion.  There  is  in  it  a  peculiar  hurry  and  vehemence, 
and  it  is  said  by  some  to  communicate  a  tremi  ious  mo- 
tion to  the  surrounding  country.  Besides  the  dense 
cloud  wliich  ascends  from  the  bottom  of  the  Horseshoe, 
there  is  a  vapor  and  mist  continually  falling,  to  the  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  rods,  so  that  at  all  times  when  the 
8un  shines  you  may  here  see  a  rainbow.  Considerable 
fjuantit»es  of  lumber,  which  had  come  over  the  fall  from 
the  saw-mills  above,  were  cast  up  among  the  rocks  on 
tlie  shore.  They  were  rounded  and  smoothed  on  all  si'ies, 
much  like  the  under  surface  of  a  wooden  sled-runner, 


64  JOURNAL  OF   A 

when  uearlv  worn  out.  AVe  had  been  told  tliat  the  car- 
casses  of  dead  fisli  wliieli  liad  perished  in  the  fall  were  to 
l>e  fouiid  strewed  along  the  shore.  We  saw  none  such. 
We  met  with  dead  and  putrid  fish  upon  the  rocks  in  many 
places,  but  they  had  been  caught  by  fishermen,  and  had 
j)rol)ably  been  left  by  accident.  We  saw  several  persons 
angling  there  for  the  white  and  black  bass,  who  a[)peared 
to  be  pretty  successful. 

Men  and  other  animals  who  have  been  known  to  be 
carried  over  the  falls  have  never  been  discovered  after- 
Avards.  We  were  told  that,  the  week  before  we  were 
there,  an  old  squaw,  in  a  fit  of  derangement,  folded  her- 
self up  in  her  blanket,  and  committed  herself  to  the  cur- 
rent some  ways  above  ;  that  she  was  soon  after  seen  in 
the  rapids,  and  never  since.  She  must  have  perished 
before  sIil  reached  the  preci[)ice. 

Although  the  opposite  or  Fort  Schlosser  Fall  is  the 
loftiest,  yet  in  majesty  and  grandeur  it  yields  so  entirely 
to  the  other  that  it  is  for  some  time  difficult  to  bestow 
any  attention  on  it ;  alone,  it  would  be  accounted  a  won- 
der. The  general  course  of  the  water  at  the  falls  is 
riortli-west :  as  soon  as  it  strikes  the  bottom,  it  inclines 
to  the  north-east,  and  continues  that  direction  about  a 
mile  and  a  half,  where  it  again  bends  more  to  the  west- 
ward, and  passes  out  of  sight.  The  stream  is  so  con- 
tracted behnv  the  fall  that  30U  can  hardly  persuade 
yourself  that  it  is  all  there.  The  water,  which  at  first 
is  of  a  milky  whiteness,  does  not  resume  its  natural 
color  in  less  than  half  a  mile.  Even  then,  its  agitation 
and  the  air  which  has  escaped  from  it  give  it  the  ap- 
pearai;-'"e  of  boiling.  At  length,  however,  as  if  fatigued 
with  his  exertions,  the  river  assumes  a  more  calm  and 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  65 

settled  appearance,  and  indulges  a  seemingly  needful 
repose,  as  if  conscious  he  has  performed  his  capital 
exploit,  and  that  he  never  can  hope  to  exhibit  himself 
to  so  much  advantage  again,  he  withdraws  from  public 
observation,  and  conceals  himself  in  a  narrow  channel, 
which  he  had  excavated  through  the  solid  rock  for  that 
purpose,  till  he  arrives  at  Queenstown.  There,  unwill- 
ing to  remain  longer  useless,  he  comes  forth  once  more 
into  an  open  country,  and  permits  himself  to  be  familiarly 
approached.  He  generously  expands  to  rejeive  such 
burdens  as  mankind  choose  to  place  on  his  bosom,  and 
conveys  them  with  an  easy  dignity,  till  he  resigns  up  all 
to  Lake  Ontario. 

It  is  often  inquired  how  near  to  Niagara  Falls  it  is 
safe  to  cross  the  river.  The  river  above,  I  answer,  it 
may  be  said  from  the  mouth  of  the  Chippeway,  wdiich 
is  less  than  three  miles,  the  irdiabitants  make  no  scruple 
to  pass ;  and,  in  fact,  Chippeway  is  the  landing-place 
where  bateaux  to  and  from  Lake  Erie  receive  and  dis- 
charge theii  loading. 

Some  cpution,  however,  is  required  in  securing  boats 
at  this  landing,  so  as  to  prevent  their  being  drawn  off 
into  the  stream.  We  were  told  of  two  Frenchmen  who 
had  fallen  asleep  in  their  boat  at  Chippeway,  but  the 
boat,  by  some  accident,  gel  ting  adrift,  when  they  awaked 
they  found  themselves  in  the  canal  leading  to  the  saw- 
mills by  the  side  of  the  rapids.  It  is  not  prudent,  if 
j)racticable,  to  attempt  to  navigate  the  river  much  lower 
than  Chippeway.  Formerly,  it  was  not  uncommon  to 
cross  from  the  eastern  shore  to  the  head  of  the  island 
which  divides  the  falls,  and  many  people  in  the  vicinity 

re  lember  when  sheep  were  pastured  on  that  island  as 

9 


GQ  JOURNAL  OF   A 

a  place  of  security.  At  this  time,  however,  an  attempt 
to  pass  to  it  would  l)e  attended  with  imminent  hazard, 
and  it  is  much  to  be  doubted  whether  it  would  be  i)os- 
sible  to  return. 

Friday,  July  26th.  The  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Chip- 
peway  is  very  fertile  and  easily  cultivated.  Stevens, 
our  landlord,  who  is  an  emigrant  from  Connecticut, 
comjDlained  of  the  cheapness  of  provisions  there,  as  a 
discouragement  to  the  settlement.  He  said  tliat  last 
year  wheat  was  but  three  York  shillings  a  bushel  (z.g, 
thirty-seven  and  a  lialf  cents),  and  that  he  was  afraid 
it  would  not  be  more  than  two  shillings  this  year.  He 
further  said  the  inhabitants  of  Canada  enteitained  such 
a  prejudice  against  the  people  of  the  United  States 
as  effectually  precluded  all  intercourse  Avith  them,  and 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  persuade  a  Canadian  French- 
man that,  if  he  were  to  attempt  to  carry  his  produce  or 
drive  his  cattle  into  the  States  for  a  market,  he  would 
not  be  robbed  and  murdered. 

Stevens's  objection  can  apply  only  to  a  man  who,  like 
himself,  wishes  to  amass  an  estate  by  agriculture  ;  but,  in 
the  language  of  a  barber  whom  we  met  with  at  Geneva, 
that  must  surely  be  a  good  country  for  the  poor  man 
where  bread  is  cheap.  In  short,  as  all  this  region  affc  !; 
the  necessaries  of  life,  excellent  in  ouality  and  abundaij  ^ 
in  quantity,  with  little  labor,  it  does  not  recpiire  the  gift  of 
prophecy  to  foretell  that  in  process  of  time  it  will  swarm 
with  inhabitants.  There  is  here  a  block-house  and  a 
small  garrison  of  British  troops  ;  there  is  also  a  garrison 
at  Fort  Erie,  about  eighteen  miles  above,  and  anotiier  at 
Niagara,  the  same  distance  below. 

After  taking  an  early  dinner,  we  resumed  our  journey. 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  67 

Passing  by  tlie  rapids,  we  left  tlie  wagon,  and  took  a 
nearer  view  of  them  than  we  had  done  the  preceding 
da}',  by  descending  to  the  water's  edge.  We  here  real- 
ized what  travellers  have  often  mentioned,  that,  upon 
every  review  of  any  part  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  one's 
admiration  is  increased.  Fiom  Chippeway  to  Queens- 
town  is  eleven  miles.  After  passing  the  Falls,  the  river 
is  not  to  be  seen  from  the  road  for  seven  or  eight  miles, 
altliough  it  cannot  be  at  any  considerable  distance.  1  he 
face  of  the  country,  as  the  road  goes,  the  whole  length 
from  Lake  Erie  to  Queenstown,  is  remarkably  level,  and 
certainly  has  no  perceptible  descent.  At  the  latter  place, 
however,  it  falls  at  once,  as  much  and  more  than  the 
road  ])v  the  side  of  the  (ireat  Falls,  to  the  surface  of  the 
water  below  them.  This  consideration,  with  others  be- 
fore mentioned,  and  the  ai)pearance  of  the  river  banks 
just  where  it  emerges  from  its  confinement,  leave  no 
doubt  on  the  mind  that  here  was  once  the  Cataract. 

The  banks  exliiljit  several  strata  of  rock,  worn  through 
perpendicularly  by  the  violence  of  the  current ;  and  a 
regular  glacis  or  gradation  of  descent,  from  ledge  to 
ledge,  to  the  surface  of  the  bank  in  the  village.  The 
Cataract  must  therefore  ori^inallv  have  been  a  series  of 
cascades.  The  river  at  tliis  place  is  not  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide  ;  an  eddy  sets  back  on  each  side  ; 
the  current,  nevertheless,  is  not  more  rapid  than  in  many 
other  places  wliere  it  is  six  times  as  wide.  Therefore,  the 
water  must  here  be  very  deep,  which  indeed  is  a  neces- 
sary consequence  of  the  force  with  which  the  torrent 
formerly  descended  from  the  precipice  above.  We  un- 
deistood  tliat  some  attempts  had  been  made  last  winter 
through  the  ice  to  measure  this  depth,  and  that  it  was 


68  JOURNAL   OF   A 

found  to  exceed  sixty  fathoms ;  but  it  was  doubtful,  at 
last,  wliether  the  bottom  had  been  ascertained. 

The  ridge  Avhich  forms  the  precipice  goes  off  both 
eastward  and  westward,  at  right  angles  from  the  river, 
to  an  unknown  distance.  From  the  eminence,  just  be- 
fore we  descended  into  the  village  of  Queenstown,  we 
first  had  a  prospect  of  Lake  Ontario  stretching  in  front 
of  us,  and  forming  the  horizon  from  north-west  to  north- 
east. We  could  also  distinctly  trace  the  river,  passing 
into  the  lake  between  the  town  of  Niagara  on  the  west 
and  the  American  fort  of  the  same  name  on  the  east 
bank,  and  perceived  that  the  schooner,  in  which  by 
sending  a  messenger  forward  we  had  engaged  our  pas- 
sage over  the  lake,  and  which  we  had  expected  to  find 
at  Queenstown,  was  under  sail  dowr.  the  river.  We 
knew  that  she  was  to  stop  at  Niagara,  and  that  she 
Avould  wait  for  us  there  till  the  next  morning,  3'et  we 
were  apprehensive  that,  if  a  fair  wind  should  spring  up 
in  the  night,  she  might  put  off  before  that  time  without 
us ;  and,  as  the  accommodations  at  Queenstown  did  not 
appear  inviting,  we  sto2:)ped  there  but  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  pursued  our  journey  to  Niagara,  seven  miles,  to 
Gilbert's  Hotel. 

The  town  of  Niagara  will  probably  in  a  few  years 
become  a  place  of  importance.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
east  by  the  river,  and  on  the  north  by  the  lake.  The 
surface  of  the  surrounding  country  is  level,  and  the  soil 
appears  to  be  tolerably  good.  The  town  is  laid  out  into 
streets  and  squares,  and  the  population  is  already  con- 
siderable. A  few  years  since,  it  was  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment ;  but,  it  being  found  not  to  be  so  central  a  situation 
with  respect  to  the  Province  as  the  other  side  of  the 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  69 

lake,  the  public  offices  and  assemblies  have  been  lately 
transferred  to  York.  The  southern  shore  of  the  lake  is 
very  regular,  and  almost  exactly  east  and  west.  From 
the  cape  formed  by  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  a 
bar  runs  off  in  a  north-westerly  direction  two  or  three 
miles,  which  has  been  the  occasion  of  frequent  acci- 
dents. We  were  told  that  not  man}-  years  since  a  ves- 
sel sailed  from  the  river,  that  the  caj)tain  and  most  of 
the  crew  had  been  drinking  freeh^  and  in  a  sudden  gale 
she  soon,  with  a  company  of  soldiers  on  board,  struck 
on  this  bar,  and  wen*:  to  pieces  in  sight  of  the  town,  and 
that  every  i)erson  on  board  perished.  To  prevent  dis- 
asters on  this  bar  in  the  night,  a  stone  light-house  has 
been  erected  on  the  banks  of  the  lake,  and  which 
answers  the  purpose  at  a  very  trilling  expense. 

Saturday,  July  27th.  We  were  better  fed  than  lodged 
at  the  hotel,  on  account  of  the  i.umber  of  guests  whom 
we  found  there.  Among  others,  we  here  overtook  Dr. 
Woodhouse  of  Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  Gilmore  of  Balti- 
more, who  were  prosecuting  the  same  tour  with  our- 
selves, and  whom  we  had  constantly  heard  of  just  ahead 
of  us,  ever  since  our  leaving  Ballston  Springs.  These 
gentlemen  are  both  mineralogists,  and  had  both  trav- 
elled extensively,  particularly  Mr.  Gilmore,  in  Europe 
as  well  as  America.  He  showed  us  all  the  specimens 
of  fossil  and  mineral  substances  which  he  had  collected 
during  this  journey.  They  amounted  to  some  scores, 
and  afforded  us  much  cntertainme;it.  He  added  some 
to  his  stock  by  pebbles  found  on  the  beach  of  Lake 
Ontario.  This  beach  also  affords  the  same  kind  of 
shining  sand  wliich  we  had  seen  at  Lake  Erie. 

We  had  contemplated  passing  the  afternoon  at  the 


70  JOURNAL   OF  A 

American  fort,  the  surgeon  of  wliicli  had  sent  lis  a  polite 
card  to  take  tea  there  ;  Init,  the  wind  coming  fair,  we 
were  summoned  to  embark,  and  at  six  o'clock  took 
our  departure  from  the  wharf,  on  board  the  schooner 
"  (rovernor  Simcoe,"  Captain  Samson  master.  Samson 
was  from  Harvard  in  Massachusetts  ;  and,  althougli  lie 
has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  captain  on  tlie  lake, 
we  found  him  a  surly,  disobliging  fellow,  and  not  a  little 
inclined  to  intemperance.  His  vessel  was  clean,  well 
found,  and  commodious,  and  well  supplied  with  what- 
ever we  could  wish,  except  beds.  The  cargo  consisted 
of  furs,  and  was  estimated  at  thirty  thousand  pounds 
sterling.  Tlie  passage  money,  which  was  two  guineas 
each  person,  we  understood  to  be  a  perquisite  of  the 
captain,  for  which  he  also  provided  stores.  This  was 
not  very  expensive  with  respect  to  many  of  us,  for  we 
w^ere  soon  so  sea-sick  as  to  be  incapable  of  eating  any 
thing.  There  were  twelve  passengers  in  all.  The 
crew,  besides  the  captain  and  cook,  consisted  of  eight 
hands,  most  of  wdiom  w^ere  English  sailors.  The  wind 
during  the  night  was  light,  and  towards  morning  ahead, 
so  that  we  were  obliged  to  beat. 

Sunday,  July  28th.  In  the  morning,  we  could  discern 
the  mountains  of  Toronto  behind  the  town  of  York  on 
the  northern  shore.  These  mountains  can  be  seen 
across  the  lake  from  Niagara,  in  still  and  clear  weather. 
We  could  also  see  the  shore  which  we  had  left.  The 
last  object  that  disappeared  was  the  light-house  at 
Niagara.  By  eleven  o'clock  a.m.,  the  wind  having 
again  become  fair,  we  were  completely  out  of  sight  of 
land,  and,  as  far  as  we  could  judge  by  the  color  of  the 
water,  we  were  off  of  soundings.     The  shores  of  this 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  71 

lake   are  gcnerully  bold,  and  it  is  said  that  at  a  mod- 
erate distance  from  the  land  it  is  without  soundini's. 

The  depth  of  water  in  Lake  Erie  is  generally  about 
thirty  fathoms,  and  in  no  place  exceeds  fifty  fathoms. 
Michigan  is  also  shoal,  but  Huron  and  Superior  are 
deej).  Lake  Ontario  is  never  frozen  entirely  over,  but 
is  always  open  through  the  winter,  within  sight  of  the 
shore.  AVe  had  been  told  that  it  was  the  same  with 
Lake  Erie  ;  but  Stevens,  our  host  at  C'hippewa\',  told  us 
that  he  had  himself  driven  two  horses  in  a  sleigh  across 
it,  some  ways  above  the  fort,  where  it  is  ten  miles  wide, 
and  from  thence  alonq;  the  southern  shore  one  hundred 
miles  to  Presque  Isle,  and  that  the  ice  was  generally 
two  or  three  feet  thick.  Whether  the  upper  lakes  are 
entirely  frozen  over  in  winter  does  not  seem  to  be 
known,  but  it  is  certain  that  the}'  are,  so  far  as  can  be 
seen  from  the  land.  In  summer,  vessels  of  burden  can 
l)ass  from  Erie  into  Huron,  and  thence  into  Michigan. 
Bateaux  can  pass  from  Lake  Superior  into  Huron,  but 
cannot  return,  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of  the  current 
at  the  fall  of  St.  Mary.  There  are  about  twenty  vessels 
on  Lake  Ontario,  most  of  which  are  employed  in  carry- 
ing salt  from  Oswego  to  various  ports,  and  in  transport- 
ing goods  between  Niagara  and  Kingston.  Notwith- 
standing the  depth  of  water,  the  navigation  is  dangerous 
in  bad  weather  for  the  want  of  sea  room  and  safe  ports. 
Niagara,  York,  and  Kingston  are  the  only  secure  har- 
bors into  which  the  passage  is  easy.  Sodus  Bay,  on  the 
southern  shore,  is  an  excellent  harbor,  but  th*^  entrance 
is  over  a  dancrerous  bar.  As  the  face  of  the  countrv  in 
the  vicinitv  of  the  lake  is  in  ijenoral  level,  the  winds 
which  blow  over  it  are  more  steady  than  they  would 


72  JOURNAL   OF  A  ^ 

be  if  they  were  obstructed  by  neighboring  mountains, 
but  for  the  same  reason  are  more  violent,  and  sometimes 
produce  a  surge  that  no  exertions  can  combat.  It  is 
thought  that  a  greater  ])roportion  of  vessels  are  lost  here 
than  on  the  ocean  itself. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  wind  freshened  so  much  that,  T)y 
throwing  the  log,  we  ascertained  our  progress  to  be  at 
the  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour.  The  swell  was  heavy, 
but  our  course,  which  was  E.N.E.,  was  directly  across 
it,  and  it  was  therefore  attended  with  no  inconvenience. 
Towards  evening,  the  sky  near  the  horizon  became 
smoky  and  hazy,  and  in  the  niglit  the  stars  were  only  to 
be  seen  near  the  zenith.  From  the  rate  at  which  we 
were  going,  it  was  pretty  certain  that  by  ten  o'clock,  not 
far  from  the  tinie  expected,  we  sliould  be  near  the  Long 
Point,  so  called,  which  projects  from  the  northern  shore 
far  out  into  the  lake,  about  fiftv  miles  from  Kino^ston. 
The  steersman  alarmed  the  captain  by  declaring  that 
he  heard  the  surge  breaking  on  the  beach,  when,  upon 
heaving  the  lead,  we  were  found  to  be  in  less  than  five 
fathoms  of  water.  The  vessel  was  immediately  put 
about,  and  we  went  off  within  a  few  points  of  the  track 
in  which  we  had  come,  with  such  expedition  that  in  an 
hour's  time  we  had  deepened  our  water  to  fifty  fathoms. 
Between  one  and  two  o'clock,  we  resumed  our  course. 

July  21>th.  hi  the  morning,  we  were  out  of  sight  of 
land,  but  made  it  again  about  eight  o'clock.  It  proved 
to  be  two  islands,  '"died  Providence  Islands,  which  ap- 
prised us  that  we  v*  re  in  a  proper  course  ;  and,  with  tlie 
help  of  a  brisk  and  favorable  Avind,  at  eleven  o'clock 
we  arrived  at  Kingston,  God  be  praised.  From  Niagai'a 
to  Kingston,  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles.     We  met 


TOUR  TO   NT  AG  ABA  FALLS.  73 

with  no  small  difficulty  in  procuring  lodgings  at  King- 
ston. AYe  casually  met  Judge  Cartv^^iglit  on  the  street, 
and,  though  we  did  not  then  know  him,  asked  his  direc- 
tions. He  said  he  lamented  that  their  village  could  not 
afford  better  accommodations,  but  named  several  houses 
where  he  thought  it  advisable  for  us  to  make  an  experi- 
ment. Having  examined  three  or  four,  and  found  them 
small,  filthy,  and  ill-supplied,  we  at  length  forced  our- 
selves upon  Walker,  who  keeps  the  hotel  here,  notwith- 
standing he  said  his  beds  were  all  occupied.  While  we 
were  dining,  two  young  Britisli  officers,  who  were  at 
table,  and  who  were  lodgers  in  the  house,  politely  offered 
us  their  beds,  with  the  aid  of  which,  by  dividing  them 
and  spreading  them  upon  the  hall  floor,  we  made  out  to 
sleep  very  comfortably.  We  found  at  the  same  house 
a  3'oung  gentleman  and  his  wife  just  from  London,  and 
now  on  their  way  to  the  British  upper  posts.  He  comes 
out  in  quality  of  Surveyor-General  of  Upper  Canada. 
She  is  handsome,  and  appears  to  be  an  accomplished 
woman,  such  as  one  would  not  expect  to  meet  in  this 
depth  of  obscurity. 

Our  fare  at  Walker's  was  good.  His  means  are  not 
equal  to  his  wishes,  but  he  and  his  people  are  very 
obliging.  At  dinner,  we  had  among  other  dishes  the 
head  and  shoulders  of  a  maskinonge,  boiled.  This  is  a 
fish  of  the  pike  kind,  but  much  larger  than  the  fish  of 
that  sort  usually  are  found.  Some  of  them  are  said  to 
weigh  fifty  cr  sixty  pounds.  We  saw  none,  however, 
that  would  weigh  much  more  than  twenty  pounds. 
They  make  a  very  good  dish.  After  dining,  we  deliv- 
ered our  letters  to  Judge  Cartwright,  and  Mr.  Robinson, 

his  kinsman.     Judge  Cartwright  is  a  member  of  the 

10 


74  JOURNAL  OF   A 

Council,  or  upper  house  of  the  Legislature  of  this  Prov- 
ince, an  office  which  is  now  hereditary.  He  received 
us  politely,  and  showed  us  all  the  civility  and  attention 
that  the  time  and  circumstances  would  permit. 

Kingston  stands  on  a  peninsula  on  the  mainland, 
having  Lake  Ontario  to  the  south,  and  the  outlet  called 
here  the  Lake  of  One  Thousand  Islands,  the  beginning 
of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  to  the  east.  It  is  regularly 
laid  out  into  streets  and  squares  in  the  manner  of  a  city. 
As  yet  it  is  but  partially  built.  When  completed,  the 
whole  area  will  be  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  The 
court-house,  jail,  and  church,  and  most  of  the  dwelling- 
houses  and  fences  here,  are  of  limestone.  The  whole 
town  stands  on  a  rock  of  limestone,  but  slightly  cov- 
ered with  earth.  Judge  Cartwright's  garden  does  him 
great  credit.  It  is  near  the  centre  of  the  town,  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  high  wall,  and  appears  to  be  well  culti- 
vated and  attended.  Peach-trees,  which  do  well  on  the 
south  side  of  Lake  Ontario,  do  not  thrive  here ;  even 
those  which  are  secured  and  protected  by  the  northern 
w^all  of  the  garden  perisli  by  reason  of  the  severity  of 
the  winter,  b-efore  they  are  of  an  age  to  bear.  At  the 
soutnern  extremity  of  Kingston,  the  house  of  Parson 
Stuart  is  situated  in  a  romantic  spot.  Behind  it  is  a 
handsome  garden  and  an  orchard,  and  in  front  a  beau- 
tiful piece  of  natural  forest  of  beech-trees,  free  from 
under-brush,  and  which  extends  from  the  door  of  the 
house  about  ten  rods,  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario. 
A  more  delightful  situation  for  repose  or  meditation  can 
hardly  be  conceived.  Behind,  you  have  a  view  of  both 
to\\n  and  country;  before  is  a  diversified  prospect  of 
land  and  water,  while  the  ear  is  gratified  at  the  same 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA  FALLS.  75 

time  with  the  melody  of  the  birds  and  the  murmur  of 
the  beach. 

In  a  cove  which  makes  up  into  the  mainland  on  the 
northern  side  of  Kingston  is  a  king's  dock-yard.  There 
is  an  island  in  the  entrance  of  the  river,  on  which  a 
garrison  is  stationed,  as  there  is  also  in  the  town  itself. 
To  one  accustomed  to  see  rivers  occasionally  overflow 
their  banks,  it  is  singular  to  observe  how  securely  the 
people  here  build  by  the  water's  edge.  Inundations 
are  not  known  in  the  St.  Lawrence.  Judo'e  Cartwrif]jht 
informed  us  that  from  long  observation  he  is  able  to 
state  that  there  is  a  regular  annual  rise  in  the  waters  of 
Lake  Ontario,  beginning  about  the  first  of  April,  and 
continuing  to  increase  till  about  the  first  of  July ;  that 
it  is  never  more  than  three  feet,  and  seldom  more  than 
two. 

Chestnut,  black  walnut,  and  many  other  kinds  of 
wood  which  are  common  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake, 
are  not  found  on  its  north  side,  but  instead  thereof  the 
evergreens  are  the  prevailing  woods. 

At  Kingston,  we  saw  considerable  numbers  of  the 
Messessaga  Indians.  They  are  filthy,  indolent,  and 
miserable  wretches,  free  as  Paine  himself  would  wish, 
and  a  fine  specimen  of  the  infinite  perfectibility  of  man. 
We  found  no  bateaux  at  Kingston,  about  to  descend 
the  river.  Mr.  Smith  and  j\Ir.  Reynolds,  gentlemen 
concerned  in  the  fur-trade,  and  Mr.  Hern,  a  Scotch 
trader,  settled  at  Niagara,  who  liad  crossed  the  lake 
with  us,  purchased  a  Schenectady  boat,  and  hired  four 
Frenchmen  to  row  her  to  ]Montreal,  which  having  done, 
they  politely  offered  us,  together  with  Dr.  Woodhouse 
and  Mr.  Gilmore,  a  share  of  the  purchase.     We  found 


76  JOURNAL  OF   A 

that  the  boat  would  conveniently  carry  us  all.  "We  were 
ill-provided  with  lodgings,  and  uncertain  when  an  oppor- 
tunity would  offer  to  go  in  the  usual  mode  in  bateaux ; 
and,  as  they  go  always  loaded,  we  should  be  obliged, 
if  we  should  go  in  them,  to  divide  our  company.  We 
therefore  gladly  accepted  the  offer  ;  and  having  provided 
ourselves  with  provisions  for  the  voyage,  including  a 
supply  of  Port  and  Madeira  wines,  we  embarked  early 
in  the  morning  of  July  30,  to  the  number  of  fourteen  in 
all,  upon  the  Lake  of  One  Thousand  Islands,  and  shaped 
our  course  for  Montreal. 

We  had  been  taught  to  hope  that  we  might  go  from 
Kingston  to  Montreal  in  two  days  ;  but  we  soon  found 
this  a  vain  expectation.  To  effect  such  a  progress  re- 
quires a  strong  and  favorable  breeze,  and  sails  to  make 
the  most  of  it.  We  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy 
either  of  these  advantages,  and  we  soon  found  our  boat's 
crew  were  not  as  expert  or  skilful  in  the  navigation  of 
the  river  as  the  generality  of  the  watermen  who  ply 
upon  it.  They  were  noAv  returning  from  a  long  expe- 
dition to  the  Indian  countrv,  and  had  for  some  time 
been  unused  to  this  particular  kind  of  labor.  Our  whole 
progress,  therefore,  this  day,  was  short  of  forty  miles, 
although  we  lost  but  very  little  time  at  rest  or  refresh- 
ment. We  dined  on  a  bare  rock  on  an  uninhabited 
island,  the  last  in  the  Lake  of  One  Thousand  Islands, 
and  which  we  called  Smith's  Island,  in  compliment  to 
the  gentleman  who  acted  as  our  conductor. 

The  name  of  the  lake  we  found  not  to  be  hyperbolical, 
as  Ave  had  at  first  supposed.  We  verily  believed  that 
we  saw  very  near  one  thousand  islands.  Mr.  Gilmore 
affirmed   that  he   counted  fifty  in  view  at  one  time. 


TOUR   TO   XIAGARA   FALLS.  77 

Tliey  are  of  various  sizes,  some  containiiig  fifty  acres 
or  more,  and  others  not  a  quarter  of  an  acre.  They 
form  a  labyrintli,  through  which  it  requires  the  expe- 
rience of  a  pilot  to  find  a  passage.  The  scene  is  t;on- 
tinually  changing ;  sometimes  you  seem  to  be  completely 
land-locked,  with  a  shore  at  no  great  distance  in  every 
direction.  In  a  few  minutes,  extensive  sheets  of  water 
expand  to  the  view,  and  you  then  perceive  that  what 
before  seemed  to  be  perhaps  but  one  is  in  reality  several 
islands.  Sometimes  you  are  in  still  water  as  of  a  lake, 
and  forthwitli  find  yourself  in  the  strong  current  of  a 
river.  As  you  emerge  from  the  islands  and  come  into 
the  view  of  both  shores  of  the  river,  the  j)rospect  down- 
stream is  remarkably  fine.  The  breadth  from  shore  to 
shore  is  from  one  to  two  miles,  but  in  the  direction  of 
the  river  north-eastward  the  sky  and  water  unite. 

At  night  we  went  ashore  on  the  west  side,  and  pro- 
cured a  cup  of  tea  in  a  log  house  owned  by  a  Whitney, 
a  settler  from  Stamford,  in  Connecticut.  He  has  l)een 
here  about  five  years ;  he  owns  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  on  the  river,  which  cost  him  forty  dollars  at  first, 
and  all  his  taxes  since  have  been  but  sixty  cents,  which 
was  for  the  repair  of  roads.  He  has  one  hundred  acres 
under  cultivation,  and  has  a  fine  young  orchard  growing 
near  his  house.  His  people  have  often  ploughed  up  the 
heads  of  Indian  arro^vs  of  flint.  It  being  the  time  of 
wheat  harvest,  we  saw  his  people  threshing  some  in  the 
open  air  on  a  flat  rock.  The  family  did  all  in  their 
power  to  oblige  us,  but  the  house  would  accommodate  no 
more  than  two  of  us.  i\ir.  Smith  and  Mr.  Hern  con- 
cluded to  sleep  in  the  boat  for  the  security  of  the  prop- 
erty during  the  voyage,  and  the  rest  of  us  for  this  time 


78  JOURNAL   OP  A 

slept  in  the  barn.  Although  our  accommodations  in 
a  small  log  barn  were  neither  spacious  nor  splendid, 
they  were  nevertlieless  pleasant.  We  had  sweet  fresh 
hay  for  our  bed,  we  were  agreeably  fanned  by  a  soft 
breeze,  the  mild  light  of  the  moon  and  the  gentle  mur- 
mur of  the  beach  were  particularly  favorable  to  repose, 
and  never  was  sleep  more  grateful  or  refreshing. 

July  31st.  On  awakening,  we  learned  the  disagree- 
able news  that  the  wind  was  stiff  ahead.  Certain 
bateaux  which  we  had  met  the  day  before,  just  as  we 
were  coming  out  of  Kingston  harbor,  had  passed  us  in 
the  night  on  their  return,  and,  as  we  judged  by  the 
smoke,  were  now  stopping  for  breakfast  at  an  island 
about  half  a  mile  below  us.  After  considerable  consul- 
tation, it  was  thought  best  for  us  to  make  some  progress 
before  breakfast.  Our  crew,  of  their  own  head,  made 
for  the  island  where  the  bateaux  were.  It  was  fortunate 
they  did  so  :  they  had  discovered  somewhat  of  a  refrac- 
tory and  mutinous  spirit  3'esterday,  and,  not  having  been 
lately  used  to  labor  so  hard,  they  were  ill-disposed  to 
row  against  the  wind  to-day.  We  conjectured  also  that 
the  steersm.ln  was  conscious  of  his  want  of  ability  to 
conduct  the  boat  with  safety  down  the  many  dangerous 
rapids  below,  and  was  glad,  therefore,  of  an  opportunity 
to  quarrel,  as  an  excuse  for  refusing  to  proceed  with  us. 
Having  reached  the  island,  they  made  our  boat  fast,  and 
joined  the  Frenchmen  belonging  to  the  bateaux,  who 
were  eating  at  a  fire  among  the  bushes.  Finding  that 
we  were  to  remain  here  till  they  should  have  got  their 
breakfast  and  felt  disposed  to  proceed,  we  remonstrated, 
and  desired  to  be  set  back  to  Whitney's,  that  we  too 
might  get  a  breakfast.     They  immediately  flew  into  a 


TOUR   TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  79 

rage,  said  they  never  had  so  many  masters  at  once,  took 
their  baggage  out  of  the  boat,  and  swore  they  would 
row  us  no  further.  Our  situation  for  a  little  time  was 
very  unpleasant,  and  we  seemed  to  have  no  alternative 
but  to  row  ourselves.  But  labor  was  not  the  only 
requisite  in  our  ease :  none  of  us  possessed  the  skill  and 
experience  necessary  to  enable  us  to  pass  the  rapids 
with  safety.  The  neighboring  country  is  almost  entirely 
a  wilderness,  and  there  are  no  roads  on  either  shore,  so 
that  we  might  travel  by  land.  Fortunately,  one  of  the 
bateaux  at  the  island  was  double  manned.  There  not 
being  loading  enough  at  Kingston  for  all  the  bateaux 
which  went  up  yesterday,  —  exclusive  of  the  furs  belong- 
ing to  the  North-west  Company,  and  which  they  choose 
to  have  transported  by  their  own  people,  —  the  crew  of 
one  of  them  had  left  her  there  till  another  opportunity. 
They  here  offered  us  their  services  at  a  moderate  rate. 
As  we  were  in  no  condition  to  decline,  we  gladly  ac- 
cepted them,  and  soon  found  that  we  had  reason  to 
rejoice  in  the  change  ;  that  we  had  got  a  much  better 
set  of  hands,  with  a  more  discreet  and  civil  conductor. 
All  the  boats  started  from  the  island  together,  but  ours 
soon  left  the  others,  and  in  the  course  of  the  day  we 
lost  sight  of  them.  Having  now  cleared  the  islands,  so 
that  our  course  was  direct,  —  the  wind  having  subsided, 
and  our  crew  in  fine  spirits,  which  we  took  care  occa- 
sionally to  recruit  by  artificial  means,  —  we  advanced 
with  great  speed. 

The  shores,  which  had  been  rocky  and  abrupt,  sub- 
sided into  agreeable  slope.  The  settlements  upon  them 
begin  to  thicken,  and  the  couniry  bids  fair  in  time  to 
be   thrifty  and   populous.     Our   hands   entertained  us 


80  JOURNAL  OF  A 

much  with  a  great  many  French  songs,  which  they  sing 
in  alternate  sentences,  keeping  time  to  the  music  with 
their  oars.  We  stoi)ped  to  deliver  a  letter  at  the  village 
of  Oswegatchie,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  the  same 
name,  on  the  New  York  side.  Here  is  an  ancient 
French  stone  fort  in  ruins,  and  a  modern  town  just  in 
em])ryo.  The  legal  name  of  the  place  is  Ogdensburg. 
It  seems  favorably  situated  to  prosper,  having  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  stand  for  mills  on  the  Oswegatchie  within 
half  a  mile  of  its  mouth,  and  of  w^ater  carriage  by  means 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  is  here  more  than  two  miles 
wide.  We  met  several  bateaux  this  day  passing  up  the 
river.  They  were  almost  all  navigated  by  Frenchmen, 
who  make  it  an  invariable  practice  to  blackguard  and 
vilify  each  other  as  they  pass,  with  the  most  sarcastic 
and  abusive  language  they  can  invent.  Our  hands 
seemed  no  Avays  inferior  to  their  brethren  in  this  sort  of 
compliment.  A  few  miles  below  Oswegatchie,  we  passed 
the  first  rapid,  called  the  Galotte  [Galops]  ;  further  on, 
the  rapid.  Plat ;  and  below,  the  Catfish  rapid.  None  of 
these  are  considered  formidable.  We  passed  an  Indian 
town  on  the'  New  York  side  ;  and  Johnstown,  a  growing 
village  and  county  town,  on  the  other. 

The  British  Government  take  great  pains  to  promote 
the  settlement  and  prosperity  of  their  territory,  and  not 
without  considerable  success.  Settlements,  however, 
are  beginning  on  the  American  side,  and  the  enterprise 
of  our  countrymen  is  observable  in  the  construction  of 
mills,  which  are  made  to  go  with  the  natural  current 
of  the  river,  not  only  at  the  rapids,  but  even  wdiere  the 
water  does  not  flow  more  than  tw^o  or  three  miles  an 
hour.     In  this  last  case,  the  large  water-wheel  moves 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  81 

very  slow,  but  by  multiplying  the  gCcar  the  mill-stones 
move  sufficiently  fust.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  we 
halted  at  a  public  house,  kept  by  Lousk,  a  Dutchman. 
We  found  it  a  good  house,  but  had  not  time  to  enjoy 
many  of  its  comforts.  Our  whole  progress  this  day  was 
sixty  miles. 

August  1st,  1805.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
we  proceed  down  the  river  to  Bernard's,  to  breakfast, 
eighteen  miles  ;  a  very  good  house.  In  this  course,  we 
passed  the  rapid  called  the  Long  Sault,  a  friglitful  place. 
The  water  runs  with  great  velocity  here  for  half  a  mile. 
It  is  necessary  that  the  boat  should  be  directed  exactly 
across  the  billows,  to  prevent  it  from  oversetting  and 
rolling  over  like  a  log,  as  it  would  certainly  do,  if  its  side 
was  turned  to  the  current.  Many  fatal  accidents  have 
happened  at  this  place.  Lord  Amherst  lost  five  hun- 
dred of  his  army  here  for  want  of  skilful  pilots.  Even 
our  hands  lost  their  wonted  vivacity  on  approaching  the 
Long  Sault,  and  the  conductor  gave  them  a  charge  that, 
while  shooting  it,  they  should  fix  their  eyes  on  him. 
They  did  so.  All  was  silence  except  the  roaring  of  the 
waters.  Sometimes  the  hands  rowed,  and  sometimes 
they  held  back.  We  went  with  astonishing  rapidity, 
and  in  about  five  minutes  were  past  the  danger,  to  the 
very  sensible  relief  of  us  all.  The  watermen  on  this 
side  consider  the  first  passage  of  this  rapid  as  ^50  much 
of  an  exploit  that  they  make  a  practice  to  sprinkle,  or 
baptize^  as  they  call  it,  every  person  on  his  first  approach 
to  it.  Our  hands  prepared  to  serve  us  in  this  manner, 
observing,  however,  that  they  would  do  it  delicately; 
but  we  declined  undergoing  the  operation  at  all,  and 

easily  bought  our  peace  by  the  promise  of  a  small  douceur 

11 


82  JOUKNAL   OF   A 

on  our  arrival  at  Montreal.  A  little  below  the  Long 
Sault,  on  the  westerly  side,  stands  the  town  of  Cornwall. 
About  seven  o'clock,  we  resumed  our  course,  and  reached 
the  head  of  the  Lake  St.  Francis.  This  lake  is,  properly 
speaking,  no  more  than  a  swell  or  enlargement  of  the 
river,  and  is  in  no  place  more  than  ten  miles  wide,  and 
generally  not  more  than  half  that  distance.  We  here 
discovered  the  mountains  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake 
Champlain,  the  first  we  had  seen  for  some  hundred 
miles.  The  wmd  blowing  fresh  and  directly  ahead,  the 
boat  was  obliged  to  stop,  and  we  proceeded  on  foot  a 
mile  or  two,  to  Cameron's,  to  dine  ;  from  Bernard's,  ten 
miles.  Cameron  was  from  Perth,  in  Scotland.  Mr. 
Gilmore  told  the  landlady  that  he  had  been  in  Perth. 
She  immediately  said  she  wondered  what  could  have 
induced  him  to  leave  so  fine  a  place  as  Perth,  and  come 
into  such  a  wilderness.  They  keep  a  pretty  good 
house.  We  dined  on  white  bass,  boiled  and  smoked  eels. 
The  limestone  about  Cameron's  is  composed  entirely  of 
small  shells.  At  half-past  one,  the  wind  having  abated, 
we  again  embarked,  and  traversed  Lake  St.  Francis  in 
a  direct  line  nearly  through  the  centre,  to  McGee's,  or 
McKie's,  eighteen  miles,  where  we  took  tea.  This  house 
stands  on  Point  Bourdett  [Pointe  au  Bodet],  so  called, 
a  romantic  spot  projecting  into  the  lake.  The  view 
from  this  point  up  the  river  is  like  one  through  a  bay 
or  river  into  the  sea.  In  some  points,  the  horizon  is 
formed  by  the  sky  and  water ;  in  others,  islands  interrupt 
the  prospect,  and  on  some  of  them  the  trees  seem  half- 
sunk  in  the  water,  while  on  others  they  are  so  nearly 
lost  as  to  resemble  the  masts  of  ships  riding  at  anchor. 
McGee  keeps  a  very  good  house,  and  his  wife  is  a  Cana- 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  88 

dian  Frenchwoman.  She  speaks  no  English,  but  is  very 
neat  and  industrious.  At  half-past  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  we  resumed  our  course.  Before  we  stopped 
again,  we  could  hear  the  rapids  roar  at  the  Coteau  du 
Lac.  At  ten,  we  arrived  at  Mclntire's,  a  Scotchman's, 
to  sleep,  nine  miles;  making  the  whole  of  this  day's 
progress,  fifty-five  miles.  Lake  St.  Francis  may  be  said 
to  begin  at  Cameron's  and  end  at  Mclntire's.  If  so,  its 
length  is  twenty-seven  miles ;  but,  if  all  the  islands  are 
considered  as  being  in  the  lake,  it  is  much  longer.  Upon 
the  whole,  this  was  a  very  disagreeable  day  to  me.  To 
be  confined  in  a  leaky,  defective,  heavy-loaded,  open 
boat,  having  fourteen  persons  on  board ;  rushing  with 
frightful  velocity  down  foaming  rapids  ;  traversing  Lake 
St.  Francis  against  the  wind,  many  miles  from  land,  with 
a  considerable  sea  running  ;  coursing  in  the  night  along 
an  unknown  shore,  sometimes  entangled  among  bul- 
rushes, at  others  hurried  away  by  currents,  the  sky  low- 
ering and  threatening  a  storm,  and  the  rapids  of  Coteau 
du  Lac  roaring  within  our  hearing,  —  altogether  rendered 
this  part  of  our  journey  extremely  unpleasant.  But, 
God  be  praised,  we  arrived  here  in  safety,  and  slept 
soundly  till  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  August  2d. 
We  shot  the  rapids  called  the  Coteau  du  Lac,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  village  .called  the  Cedars,  standing  at  the 
head  of  the  rapids  of  the  same  name.  To  McMillan's, 
to  breakfast,  nine  miles ;  a  poor  tavern.  Here  six  of  us 
left  the  boat,  and  went  in  calashes  to  the  foot  of  the 
rapids.  Major  Williams,  Mr.  Gilmore,  and  Mr.  Smith 
remained,  and  went  over  the  rapids  in  the  boat.  We 
witnessed  this  passage  from  the  land.  Sometimes  their 
course  was  winding  along  the  shore,  at  others  it  was  on 


84  JOUPwNAL  OF  A 

the  ridge  of  the  current,  occasionecl  by  the  compression 
of  the  water  in  passing  among  obstructing  rocks ;  some- 
times their  descent  from  rock  to  rock  was  so  sudden 
that  they  twice  struck ;  but  at  last  they  shot  directly 
through  the  billows,  occasioned  by  the  current  meeting 
with  the  still  water  in  Lake  St.  Louis.  This  passage  is 
accounted  nine  miles  in  length.  We  thought  it  hardly 
so  much.  It  is  considered,  and  very  justly,  as  attended 
with  danger,  although  the  gentlemen  who  performed 
it  said  tliey  thought  its  terrors  had  been  exaggerated. 
We  all  resumed  our  seats  in  the  boat,  including  two 
fresh  passengers  whom  we  took  in  at  the  Cedars,  and 
proceeded  over  Lake  St.  Louis  to  La  Chine  on  the  island 
of  Montreal,  eighteen  miles,  where  we  landed  at  noon. 

Lake  St.  Louis  may  properly  be  said  to  commence  at 
the  foot  of  the  rapids,  and  to  extend  to  the  island  of 
Montreal.  It  is  six  or  eight  miles  wide,  and  compre- 
hends the  island  of  Perault,  on  which,  as  we  passed  it, 
w-e  observed  several  houses,  a  church,  windmill,  and 
other  buildings.  Wherever  we  could  discern  the  shores 
of  the  lake,  they  were  covered  with  settlements.  Look- 
ing from  one  end  to  the  other,  or  up  the  passage  which 
communicates  with  the  lake  of  the  two  mountains,  the 
shore  cannot  be  seen.  At  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  we 
first  descried  the  mountain  behind  Montreal,  and  at  the 
same  time  observed  on  the  left  the  two  mountains  near 
the  lake  of  that  name,  and  on  the  right  the  mountains 
towards  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain.  But 
notwithstanding  the  picturesque  and  interesting  views 
which  presented  themselves  on  every  side,  the  passage 
of  Lake  St.  Louis  was  far  from  being  pleasant.  At  the 
entrance,  we  were  rocked  in  the  trough  of  the  surge, 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  85 

occasioned  by  the  rapids  meeting  the  still  waters ;  and, 
when  we  took  our  course  directly  across  it,  we  had 
the  wind  ahead,  with  a  considerable  swell.  The  boat 
leaked  faster  than  before,  owing  as  well  to  the  increase 
of  her  load  as  to  her  having  struck  the  rocks.  We 
were  two  or  three  miles  from  the  nearest  shore,  and  in 
case  of  accident  we  could  expect  no  assistance.  The 
wind,  however,  subsided,  when  we  should  have  been 
most  exposed  to  it,  but  freshened  again  soon  after  we 
reached  La  Chine.  Here  ended  our  navigation  of  the 
lakes  and  river  of  Canada. 

To  have  accomplished  so  arduous  an  undertaking 
afforded  us  no  small  satisfaction,  but  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  persuade  any  of  us  to  repeat  this  part  of  our 
excursion.  For  near  a  week,  we  had  been  rocking  on 
the  water,  and  most  of  that  time  had  been  confined 
eighteen  hours  in  twenty-four  to  our  boat.  Of  course, 
we  had  been  equally  unable  to  take  our  regular  meals, 
or  to  indulge  in  exercise  or  repose.  We  had  been 
exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  damps  of  the 
night ;  to  the  perils  of  navigating  extensive  waters  in  an 
open  boat,  with  the  wind  generally  adverse  ;  and  to  the 
more  imminent  hazard  of  passing  rapids  that  seemed  to 
defy  our  approach.  Certain  I  am  that  I  have  formed 
a  resolution  never  again  to  attempt  a  water  passage, 
unless  the  reason  in  favor  of  that  mode  of  convevance 
should  greatly  preponderate.  Yet  our  journey  down 
the  river  was  comparatively  prosperous.  The  head- 
wind was  almost  the  only  unfavorable  circumstance 
that  attended  it.  Most  of  the  time  the  weather  was  so 
cloudy  as  to  protect  us  from  the  sunshine,  and  yet  it 
did  not  rain  until  the  night  after  we  landed,  when  it 


86  JOURNAL   OF  A 

poured  down  profusely.  We  had  withal  an  obliging, 
active,  and  indefatigable  boat's  crew.  I  have  never 
known  men  perform  so  much  hard  labor,  and  take  so 
little  repose  in  the  same  time.  The  Canadians  seem  to 
be  peculiarly  fitted  for  this  kind  of  toil,  although  in 
general  they  are  not  remarkable  either  for  industry  or 
enterprise.  We  were  particularly  careful  not  only  to 
pay  our  boatmen  their  stipulated  wages,  but  to  make 
them  considerable  additional  gratuities,  which  they 
very  thankfully  received.  We  were  induced  to  this, 
not  more  by  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  services  they 
had  rendered  us,  than  by  a  desire  to  punish  the  crew 
who  forsook  us  at  the  island,  who  we  were  persuaded 
would  not  fail  to  hear  of  our  liberality,  and  to  regret 
that  they  had  perversely  lost  the  oppori  litv  of  shar- 
ing it.  Not  able  to  procure  a  decent  dinner  at  La 
Chine,  we  hii  d  calashes,  and  proceeded  over  a  new 
turnpike  road,  which  already  needs  repair,  to  Montreal, 
seven  miles.  We  found  that  the  customary  hour  of 
dining  here  is  four  o'clock,  so  that  we  were  in  good 
season.  We  made  head-quarters  at  Hamilton's  Hotel, 
which  is  a  most  excellent  house,  not  only  as  it  respects 
the  accommodations,  but  also  the  attendance  and 
supplies. 

August  3d.  Mr.  Gilmore,  who  had  travelled  in 
France,  pronounced  Montreal  to  be  an  exact  represen- 
tation of  a  P'rench  village.  Its  appearance  was  novel  to 
most  of  us  on  account  of  its  antiquity.  The  houses  are 
generally  small,  built  of  a  dull-colored  stone,  and  fur- 
nished with  iron  window-shutters  and  doors.  The  win- 
dows are  small,  and  few  in  number.  The  entrance  is 
sometimes  through  a  court,  which  is  walled  against  the 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  87 

Street,  so  that  you  cannot  see  the  house-door  as  you 
pass.  The  general  appearance  of  the  town  therefore, 
at  first,  is  gloomy.  Many  of  the  roofs  here  are  cov- 
ered with  tinned  plates.  They  look  very  well,  and  are 
said  to  be  proof  against  the  weather.  A  stranger  is 
much  at  a  loss  in  Montreal  to  know  where  stores  or 
shops  of  any  kind  are  kept.  There  are  but  few  signs 
to  be  seen,  and  there  is  no  display  of  wares  in  the  win- 
dows ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  discover  any  difference  in  the 
form  or  exterior  appearance  between  stores  and  dwell- 
ing-houses. 

We   this    morning    attended   in   the    large    Roman 
Catholic  Church  the  funeral  service  of  a  M.  Corville,  a 
gentleman  of  some  note,  who  had  died  two  days  before. 
The  church  was  hung  in  black,  and  the  external  light 
was  sparingly  admitted,  but  its  place  was  supplied  by 
the  light  of  a  prodigious  number  of  wax  tapers  which 
were  burning  wdthin.     I  counted  one  hundred  and  fifty 
on  the  kind  of  pyramid  on  which  the  corpse  was  placed. 
The  mummery,  frivolity,  and  silly  ceremonies  of  the 
service,   exceeded   w^hat   I   had   expected    even    from 
Papists,  and  my  wonder  was  excited  that  even  io-no- 
ranee  itself  should  be  amused,  much  less  overawed  and 
enslaved,  by  such  a   religion.     The  service    was   per- 
formed by  a  large  number  of  priests,  and   a  greater 
number  of  boys,  most  of  whom  were  dressed  in  wdiite, 
but  dirty  garments.     Several  nuns  and  a  large  congre- 
gation attended.     The  weather  was  very  warm,  and 
the  corpse   was  offensive.     The   incense   and   candles 
served  rather  to  increase  than  diminish  the  disagreea- 
ble effluvia,  and  we  were  glad  therefore  to  get  out  into 
pure  air  again. 


88  JOURNAL  OF  A 

r 

Purposing  now  to  deliver  our  letters,  we  had  inquired 
out  the  house  of  Stephen  Sewall,  Esq.,  to  whom  one  of 
them  was  addressed,  and  were  going  towards  it,  but, 
being  struck  with  the  appearance  of  the  town-house  as 
we  were  passing  it,  we  turned  aside  to  examine  it.  As 
we  entered  the  court  in  front  of  the  building,  a  gentle- 
man who  happened  to  be  there,  concluding  that  we  were 
strangers,  politely  offered  to  conduct  us.  This  gentle- 
man proved  to  be  Mr.  Sewall,  whom  we  were  in  quest 
of.  We  visited  the  library ;  it  has  been  nine  or  ten 
years  collecting  ;  it  is  well  chosen,  and,  for  its  age, 
numerous.  The  apartments  in  this  building  are  well 
adapted  to  the  uses  for  which  they  were  intended. 
There  are  separate  chambers  for  the  respective  Courts 
of  Judicature,  and  commodious  rooms,  besides,  for  the 
Judges,  Council,  Juries,  &c.  The  body  of  the  house  is 
of  stone,  and  the  floors  are  of  oak.  The  principal  door 
is  in  the  second  story,  to  which  the  approach  is  by  wind- 
ing stairs.  The  court  in  front  is  spacious  and  hand- 
somely walled.  Having  satisfied  our  curiosity  here,  we 
visited  Mr.  Sewall  at  his  house.  The  rain  prevented 
our  making  a  more  extensive  excursion.  We  cannot  be 
sufficiently  grateful  for  the  favorable  weather  which 
we  had  during  our  passage  down  the  river.  This  day  it 
rained  much,  and  blew  almost  a  gale  of  wind. 

Mr.  McGillevray,  Judge  Ogden,  Mr.  Clark,  and  Mr. 
Auldjo,  called  upon  us  at  our  lodgings.  We  dined  at 
Judge  Ogden's.  He  was  formerly  of  New  Jersey,  and 
left  it  at  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution,  on  account 
of  his  attachment  to  the  Royal  cause.  He  is  a  pleasant, 
intelligent,  and  gentlemanly  man.  Major  Karney,  the 
commanding  officer  here.  Lieutenant  Bennet,  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson, and  Mr.  McGillevray,  were  of  the  party.     We 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  89 

had  a  handsome  dinner,  good  wine,  and  pleasant  com- 
pany.    Mr.  McGillevray  is  a  large  stockholder  in  the 
North-west  Company.     He  has  resided  ten  years  in  the 
north-west  country,  in  latitude  56''  or  57°,  and  longitude 
107°,  superintending  the  fur-trade  there.     The  annual 
amount  of  the  beaver  skins  obtained  by  the  company  is 
from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  packs,  each  pack 
weighing  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds.     To  prevent  overstocking  the  Enghsh  market, 
the  Company  send  some  of  these  to  Canton  in  China, 
by  the  way  of  New  York,  and  sell  others  to  the  Russians, 
who  by  means  of  their  cai-avans  introduce  them  into 
China,  on  the  opposite  side.     The  most  remote  post  be- 
longing to  the  North-west  Company  is  west  of  the  Stony 
Ridge,  so  called,  in  latitude  Qo"^,  and  longitude  118*^  or 
120°.    The  land  to  the  southward  of  the  post,  it  is  said, 
is  high,  so  that  in  winter  they  do  not  see  the  sun  for 
nearly  two  months.    The  Company  have  fifteen  hundred 
Canadians  in  constant  employment  at  their  respective 
posts,  all  of  whom  are  kept  in  perfect  order  and  submis- 
sion, without  any  other  authority  than  what  their  over- 
seers assume.     They  live   extremely  low,   and  perform 
duties  to  which  nobody  else  would  submit.     The  Com- 
pany seem  to  entertain  no  great  apprehension  of  danger 
from  the  Indians.     The  chain  of  posts  is  strong,  the  par- 
ties which  pass  from  one  to  another  are  commonly  large, 
and  it  would  be  easy,  upon  short  notice,  to  collect  a  force 
too  formidable  for  the  Indians  to  molest.     But  notwith- 
standing all  this,  and  that  the  Indians,  it  is  said,  are  well 
affected  to  this  intercourse,  the   Company  have  lately 
received  information  that  twelve  of  their  people  have 
been  killed  by  the  Indians  this  year. 

12 


90  JOURNAL  OF  A 

From  Lake  Erie  to  this  place,  the  inhabitants  make 
use  of  the  water  of  the  lakes  and  river  for  all  purposes. 
It  is  remarkably  pure  and  sweet.  At  Montreal,  they 
drink  well  water,  but  uso  the  river  water  for  washing. 
At  this  season,  the  washerwomen  are  seen  standing  in 
the  river  where  the  water  is  a  foot  or  two  deep,  and 
beating  the  clothes  with  bdtons  upon  wooden  stands 
erected  for  the  purpose.  The  water  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
is  much  more  pure  where  it  first  flows  out  of  Lake  On- 
tario than  after  it  has  received  the  tribute  of  the  lazy 
streams  which  join  it  between  that  and  Montreal. 

Sunday,  August  4th.  We  attended  divine  service  in  the 
Episcopalian  mode  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
Episcopalians  had  a  house  for  public  worship  of  their 
own ;  but  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  above  two  years  ago, 
and  since  that  time  they  have  used  this  building,  where 
they  assemble  immediately  after  its  proprietors,  the 
Presbyterians,  leave  it.  The  congregation  was  small, 
but  genteel  and  apparently  opulent.  The  military  at- 
tended in  the  gallery.  The  clergyman  who  officiated, 
Mr.  Rudd,  a  young  man,  gave  us  a  good  sermon  ;  but  his 
appearance  jand  manner  were  rather  foppish  and  affected. 
We  dined  with  Mr.  McGillevray,  with  what  he  called  a 
family  party,  who  it  seems  make  a  practice  of  assembling 
at  his  table  once  a  week.  This  gentleman's  house  is 
situated  on  an  eminence  beyond  the  suburbs,  to  the 
south-eastward  from  the  town,  whence  there  is  a  charm- 
ing prospect  of  an  extensive  tract  of  the  river,  with 
several  of  its  islands  ;  of  the  town  of  Montreal,  with  its 
harbor  and  suburbs  ;  of  the  village  of  La  Prairie,  on  the 
opposite  or  eastern  shore  of  the  river,  eight  or  ten  miles 
distant;  and  of  the  distant  mountains  of  Chambly  and 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  91 

Lake  Champlain.  The  house  stands  on  a  flat,  near  a 
long  and  steep  slope  on  its  south-east  side,  which  it 
fronts  ;  you  approach  it  on  the  opposite  side,  where  there 
is  an  elegant  yard  or  court  between  the  street  and  the 
house.  A  bell  at  the  street  gate  announces  your  ar- 
rival, a  servant  opens  to  you,  and  you  pass  with  your 
carriage  by  a  winding  and  gravelled  way  round  to  the 
front.  Adjoining  the  court  on  the  south  is  an  extensive 
and  well-managed  garden,  in  which  were  not  only  to  be 
seen  all  the  plants  usually  found  in  gardens  here,  but 
many  exotics.  Those  of  milder  climates  are  preserved 
in  a  green-house.  Peach  and  other  fruit  trees  are  pro- 
tected from  the  rigor  of  winter  by  a  wall. 

Mr.  McGillevray  has  also  an  aviary  well  stocked,  as 
also  deer,  rabbits,  and  other  animals  tamed,  with  many 
other  curiosities  in  and  about  his  house,  all  of  which  ren- 
der it  an  interesting  place  to  an  inquisitive  mind.  Other 
inducements  to  view  it,  however,  are  not  wanting.  Mrs. 
McGillevray  is  amiable  and  accomplished,  has  an  agree- 
able person,  and  frank  and  prepossessing  manners.  She 
is  from  Scotland,  and  has  just  enough  of  the  brogue  in 
her  speech  to  make  it  pleasant.  Our  dinner  was  excel- 
lent, served  up  in  sumptuous  style.  We  had  soup,  sal- 
mon, roast  beef  and  mutton,  geese,  ducks,  and  pigeons, 
plum  pudding,  pies  and  tarts,  biscuit,  and  butter  brought 
from  the  Grand  Portage  at  the  head  of  Lake  Superior, 
several  kinds  of  English  cheese,  and  a  dessert  of  various 
kinds  of  foreign  and  domestic  fruit.  Our  liquors  were 
London  porter,  bottled  cider,  strong  ale,  madeira,  port, 
claret,  and  champagne  wines.  Every  thing  was  excellent 
in  its  kind.  Ever  since  we  had  left  New  England,  we  had 
found  the  fresh  beef,  but  more  especially  the  mutton,  re- 


92  JOURNAL   OF   A 

inai'kably  well-flavored  and  palatable,  which  we  ascribed 
to  the  wild  kind  of  fooa  upon  Avhich  those  animals  sub- 
sist in  the  new  countries.  We  returned  to  our  lodgings 
on  foot,  in  a  charniinor  moon-shine  eveninof. 

August  r)th.  Visited  the  prmcipal  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  erected  in  1725.  It  is  decorated  with  consider- 
able taste  end  n.uch  expense.  Several  ancient  people 
were  at  their  devotions  in  various  parts  of  the  church, 
which  we  were  told  was  common  at  all  times  of  day.  It 
has  a  chime  of  well-toned  bells  ;  the}  are  not  rung,  how- 
ever, in  regular  cadence  or  order,  but  all  together. 

By  the  polite  invitation  of  Mr.  McGillevray,  we  visited 
the  North-west  Company's  warehouse.  They  have  here 
a  very  laige  and  accurate  manuscript  map  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  a  part  of  the  country  beyond  it.  It  con- 
tains much  useful  information,  not  to  be  met  w^ith  in 
any  printed  map.  We  saw  and  examined  large  quan- 
tities of  furs,  which  the  people  were  sorting  and  pack- 
ing in  proper  order  to  be  shipped.  The  finest  beaver 
is  sent  to  St.  Petersburg  for  the  China  market.  The 
next  quality  is  shipped  from  the  United  States  for  the 
same  countrv.  Most  of  the  residue  is  manufactured  in 
England.  Besides  beaver,  we  here  saw  the  skins  of 
deer,  bears,  foxes,  wolves,  buffaloes,  muskrats,  martens, 
minks,  otters,  wolverines,  and  black  foxes.  Here  is 
also  an  assortment  of  the  wares  prepared  to  be  sent  to 
the  posts  for  the  Indian  market.  In  consequence  of 
the  late  hour  which  custom  has  established  for  dininof, 
the  gentry  of  Montreal  make  a  practice  of  taking  a 
little  soup,  steak,  or  cold  collation  about  noon,  or,  in 
other  words,  of  eating  a  meal  between  their  breakfast 
and  dinner.     We  were  this  day  invited  by  Mr.  Salmon, 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  93 

an  English  sea-captain,  whom  we  had  met  with  at  Mr. 
McGillevray's,  to  partake  of  a  repast  of  this  kind  on 
board  his  ship,  —  a  London  trader,  called  the  ''  Eddy- 
stone."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McGillevray,  Mrs.  Shaw,  and 
Miss  Duane  were  of  the  party.  We  had  soup,  mut- 
ton chop,  ham,  shrimps,  porter,  and  cheese,  all  served 
up  in  a  very  inviting  manner,  in  a  remarkably  neat  and 
capacious  cabin. 

Tlie  harbor  of  Montreal  is  of  great  depth,  though  not 
capacious.  It  is  a  branch  only  of  the  river,  and  the 
approach  to  it  is  through  a  narrow  channel,  where  the 
stream  is  so  rapid  that  vessels  are  known  sometimes  to 
lay  at  anchor  a  month  or  more,  within  two  miles  of  the 
harbor,  waiting  for  a  strong  wind,  which  alone  can 
enable  them  to  stem  the  current.  Vessels  from  Europe, 
therefore,  commonly  make  but  one  trip  to  this  place  in 
a  year.  The  vessels  employed  in  this  trade  are  well 
calculated  for  passengers,  and  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  officers  and  crew  belonging  to  them,  w^ho  enjoy 
a  summer  of  the  most  perfect  leisure.  They  commonly 
remain  in  harbor  here  as  much  as  three  months.  As 
fast  as  furs  arrive,  the3^  are  shipped,  because  when  on 
board  they  are  at  the  risk  of  the  insurers.  Captain 
Salmon  told  us  that  the  amount  of  his  ship's  freight 
would  be  about  thirty-five  hundred  pounds  sterling. 

We  dined  at  Mr.  Se wall's.  His  mother,  who  was  at 
table,  a  pleasant  and  facetious  old  lady,  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Edmund  Quincy,  Esq.,  and  the  wife  of  Jonathan 
Sewall,  Esq.,  late  king's  attorney-general  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Massachusetts  Bkiy.  She  yet  smarts  from  the 
confiscation  of  her  late  husband's  estate  during  the 
Revolution.     Young   Mrs.   Sewall  was   from   Albany. 


94  JOURNAL  OF   A 

She  is  very  agreeable,  and  much  of  a  lady.  There 
were  present  Judge  Ogden,  Dr.  Jones,  Mr.  Clark,  Mr. 
Ogilvey,  a  very  pleasant  and  intelligent  man,  and  a 
Miss  Caldwell,  a  young  lady  who  was  on  a  visit  here 
from  Albany.  We  had  a  handsome  dinner  and  an 
elegant  dessert.  A  gooseberry  at  the  table  measured 
three  inches  in  circumference.  Mr.  Sewall  is  by  pro- 
fession a  lawyer,  and  is  said  to  realize  there  from  six 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  pounds  sterling  a  year.  Mr. 
Reed,  another  lawyer  here,  has  a  still  larger  professional 
income. 

Tuesday,  August  6th.  We  employed  the  morning 
in  perambulating  the  town,  and  in  purchasing  such 
articles  at  the  shops  as  convenience  or  fancy  suggested. 
Considering  that  Canada  has  been  a  province  of  the 
British  Empire  for  half  a  century,  it  is  surprising  that 
the  English  language  should  not  have  made  a  greater 
progress  among  its  inhabitants.  Not  one  in  five  of  the 
people  in  Montreal  can  speak  it,  and  the  proportion  of 
those  who  are  acquainted  with  it  out  of  the  city  is  still 
less.  It  is  said  that  the  French  inhabitants  refuse  to 
be  taught  to  speak  English,  even  when  instruction  is 
offered  to  them  gratis,  and  that  they  still  cherish  the 
prejudices  against  the  English  nation  for  which  their 
ancestors  were  distinguished,  insomuch  that  the  gov- 
ernment are  of  opinion  that,  if  the  French  should 
attempt  an  invasion  of  Canada,  they  would  be  gladly 
received  and  assisted  by  the  great  body  of  its  French 
inhabitants. 

At  one  o'clock,  by  appointment  we  visited  the  Hotel 
de  Dieu,  so  called,  which  is  a  convent  of  nuns  of  the 
order  of  Ursulines.     This  was  a  favor  which  we  pro- 


TOUR  TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  95 

cured  by  the  good  offices  of  Judge  Ogden,  who  had  for 
this  purpose  obtained  the  consent  of  some  superior  eccle- 
siastic, which  it  seems  was  indispensable.  There  are 
here  thirty-six  nuns.  Those  we  saw  were  considerably 
advanced  in  years,  and  except  two  or  three  were  very 
homely.  One  of  them  only  could  speak  English.  Judge 
Ogden,  however,  assisted  occasionally  by  Mr.  Gilmore 
and  Major  Williams,  kept  up  a  lively  conversation  with 
them  in  French.  They  generally  appeared  to  be  in 
good  spirits,  and  the  Superior  was  particularly  lively 
and  sportive  in  her  conversation.  We  successively  vis- 
ited their  room  for  transacting  business  with  strangers, 
which  is  done  through  an  iron  lattice  or  grating,  their 
sitting-room,  their  dining-room,  —  where  is  a  kind  of 
desk  or  rostrum  from  which  one  constantly  reads  while 
the  rest  are  eating  in  silence,  —  their  private  chapels, 
cells,  kitchen,  w^orking-rooms,  common  chapel,  church, 
apothecary's  store,  hospitals  for  each  sex,  and  garden. 
They  apologized  for  the  disorder  which  they  said  their 
affairs  were  in,  by  reason  of  the  spire  of  their  church 
having  been  struck  with  lightning  but  one  fortnight 
before,  when  the  church  itself  was  set  on  fire,  but  by- 
timely  assistance  it  was  preserved  from  destruction. 
We,  however,  did  not  think  their  apologies  necessary ; 
for  every  thing  about  them  appeared  to  be  well  ordered 
and  neat.  There  were  about  a  dozen  sick  in  the  hos- 
pitals, amongst  whom  we  remarked  one  man  under  the 
operation  of  the  small-pox.  None  of  either  sex,  labor- 
ing under  any  disorder,  are  refused  admittance,  unless 
the  accommodations  are  all  taken  up.  The  dress  of  the 
nuns  was  the  most  unbecoming  that  could  be  devised. 
It  consisted  of  a  black  gown,  a  piece  of  linen  cloth 


96  JOUKNAL  OF   A 

which  passed  with  a  single  thickness  tight  round  tlie 
forehead,  close  to  the  eyes,  and  covered  the  whole  head 
so  that  no  hair  was  to  be  seen,  and  then  fell  down  over 
the  shoulders  and  breast  a  foot  or  more  below  the  chin. 
Over  this  was  a  long  black  veil.  Before  was  a  white 
linen  apron  with  a  pocket  in  it,  which  had  a  very  un- 
graceful and  uncouth  appearance.  Throughout  their 
ai)artnients  there  prevailed  a  confined,  disagreeable 
smell,  and  prison-like  gloom.  After  purchasing  a  few 
trifling  articles,  and  depositing  a  little  money  by  way 
of  acknowledgment  in  their  charity-box,  we  retired  by 
a  passage  at  a  considerable  distance  from  that  by  which 
we  had  entered.  The  visit  fully  gratified  our  curiosity, 
and  confirmed  our  aversion  to  this  kind  of  interment 
of  the  living,  or  rather  increased  it  to  abhorrence.  I 
could  not  help  fancying  that  I  could  occasionally  dis- 
cern in  every  one  of  this  unfortunate  sisterhood  a  secret 
regret  that  the  vow  was  upon  her. 

We  dined  with  Mr.  Clark,  formerly  of  Boston,  who 
is  here  commissary  and  quartermaster-general,  pay- 
master, &c.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  useful  talents  and 
agreeable  manners,  and  his  wife  is  a  lady  of  handsome 
figure  and  accomplishments.  Judge  Ogden  and  son, 
Mr.  Sewall,  Mr.  Richardson,  and  others,  were  of  the 
party.  We  had  at  dinner,  among  other  dishes,  salt  fish 
cf  the  first  quality  in  the  New  England  style  ;  and  here 
too,  as  at  every  other  place  which  we  had  visited  in 
Montreal,  we  found  the  liquors  all  excellent  in  their 
kind.  Towards  evening,  we  took  calashes  and  rode  out 
to  the  mountain.  We  passed  by  the  new  house  of  the 
late  Mr.  McTavish,  which  he  has  left  unfinished,  and 
visited  his  tomb,  which  is  situated  behind  the  house,  in 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  97 

a  thick  wood  on  the  mountain  side.  This  situation  is 
the  most  romantic  that  can  well  be  imacfined.  Behind 
the  tomb  rises  a  lofty  precipice  of  perpendicular  rocks, 
one  of  which  forms  a  detached  column,  and  seems  as  if 
intended  by  nature  for  a  monument.  These  rocks  are 
composed  of  regular  strata,  the  uppermost  of  which  are 
of  limestone.  They  are  a  part  of  a  ledge  or  precipice 
which  extends  quite  round  the  mountain,  and  has  the 
appearance  of  having  been  worn  by  water.  This  is  to 
be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  most  of  the  island 
of  Montreal,  and  of  course  the  surrounding  country,  were 
once  covered  to  this  height  by  the  river,  which  has  since 
forced  a  passage  through  the  rocks  at  Quebec,  and  be- 
tween that  place  and  this,  so  as  to  leave  bare  the  exten- 
sive plains  which  now  border  upon  it,  all  of  which  bear 
the  marks  of  having  been  formed  by  the  water.  The 
view  from  the  mountain  side  is  exceedingly  picturesque 
and  grand.  From  the  place  where  you  stand,  luxuriant 
and  w^ell-cultivated  fields  extend  to  the  city,  all  of  which, 
with  its  suburbs,  is  directly  under  your  eye.  Down  the 
river,  for  thirty  miles  or  more,  you  see  the  water  skirted 
with  rich  fields,  in  which  are  thickly  scattered  churches, 
and  windmills  almost  constantly  in  motion,  dwelling- 
houses,  and  various  other  buildings.  The  fields  are 
bounded  by  deep  woods  which  terminate  the  view, 
except  towards  the  south-east,  where  the  rude  moun- 
tains of  Vermont  lift  their  tops  to  the  clouds. 

Mr.  McTavish  is  much  regretted  by  the  gentlemen  of 
Montreal,  who  speak  of  him  as  liaving  been  a  thorough 
merchant,  an  accomplished,  hospitable,  munificent  man  ; 
in  short,  as  an  ornament  to  society.     He  died  July  6, 

1804,  leaving  an  estate  of  one  hundred   and   twenty 

13 


98  JOURNAL  OF  A 

thousand  pounds  sterling,  to  be  inherited  by  four  chil- 
dren. On  our  return  from  the  mountain,  we  called  and 
took  tea  at  Mr.  McGillevray's.  Mrs.  McGillevray  de- 
lighted us  highly  by  singing  several  Scottish  songs  in 
the  true  Scottish  dialect  and  brogue.  Mrs.  Duane 
accompanied  her  with  the  harp.  Mr.  Gilmore  this 
morning  set  off  for  Quebec  in  a  packet ;  but  his  com- 
panion. Dr.  Woodhouse,  had  become  homesick,  and 
resolved  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  back  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

Wednesday,  August  7th.  We  had  originally  contem- 
plated making  an  excursion  from  Montreal  to  Quebec, 
but  many  considerations  induced  us  now  to  change  our 
purpose.  A  passage  by  Avater  would  have  been  irksome, 
and  one  by  land  too  fatiguing.  We  were  told  that,  al- 
though the  distance  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  we 
could  travel  it  in  calashes  and  return  in  five  days,  allow- 
ing a  day  to  spare  at  Quebec  ;  but  we  had  appropriated 
from  the  first  only  six  weeks  for  our  whole  journey. 
More  than  a  month  of  the  time  had  now  elapsed,  and 
a  passage  across  Lake  Champlain  was  uncertain  on 
account  of  the  wind.  We  therefore  concluded  to  re- 
turn directly  home.  The  many  civilities  and  constant 
attention  which  we  received  at  Montreal,  not  only  from 
the  gentlemen  to  whom  our  letters  were  addressed,  but 
from  their  friends,  rendered  it  impossible  to  leave  tho 
place  without  a  sensible  regret.  On  adjusting  our  con- 
cerns with  Mr.  Hamilton,  the  master  of  the  hotel,  we 
were  surprised  to  find  that  our  bill  for  five  days'  enter- 
tainment, including  calash  hire,  washing,  &c.,  amounted 
to  but  about  eight  dollars  each. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  left  Montreal  with 


TOUH  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  99 

Dr.  Woodhouse,  and  crossed  over  to  Longueiiil,  three 
miles.  In  this  passage,  we  were  delighted  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  island  in  the  river,  called  Grant's  Island. 
It  contains  several  acres  of  land,  mostlv  covered  with 
wood,  entirely  free  from  underbrush.  There  are  upon 
it  a  dwelling-house  and  appendages  suitable  for  a  gen- 
tleman of  fortune,  accommodated  with  a  fine  garden, 
a  green-house,  and  a  garden  wall  well  set  with  fruit 
trees.  At  the  lower  end  of  the  island  is  a  large  stone 
mill,  which  goes  by  the  natural  current  of  the  river. 

From  Longueuil,  we  deviated  a  little  to  the  northward 
of  the  direct  course  to  St.  John's,  for  the  purpose  of  vis- 
iting the  old  French  castle  of  Chambly,  fifteen  miles. 
This  whole  distance  was  over  a  plain,  scarcely  varied  by 
a  single  inequality  of  surface,  and  covered  with  wheat, 
grass,  and  weeds,  the  latter  of  which,  and  particularly 
the  Canada  thistle,  had  obtained  a  decided  superiority. 
The  fields  are  covered  with  this  pernicious  plant,  some- 
times as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach ;  the  atmosphere  is 
tainted  with  its  odor,  and  filled  with  its  seeds,  flying 
before  the  wind. 

The  French  country  houses  are  built  at  regular  dis- 
tances, of  logs  or  stones,  with  thatched  roofs.  They  are 
almost  exactly  alike,  except  in  size.  Near  them  3'ou 
see  their  barns,  constructed  with  equal  uniformity. 
They  are  composed  of  split  wood,  fastened  into  grooves 
cut  in  posts,  which  are  set  perpendicularly  in  the  ground. 
The  oven  belonging  to  a  French  house  is  commonly  sit- 
uated at  some  distance  from  it,  upon  a  platform  raised 
three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground.  Sometimes  it  is 
placed  on  a  stump. 

At  Chambly,  we  came  to  the  outlet  of  Lake  Cham^ 


100  JOURNAL  OF   A 

plain,  called  the  Chambly,  Sorel,  or  Richelieu  River,  the 
latter  of  which  names  is  the  most  common.  Here  are 
two  considerable  villages,  one  at  some  distance  below  the 
castle,  towards  the  church,  and  the  other  just  above  it. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  is  another  church  and 
parish,  called  Point  Olivet ;  and  a  little  further  down  on 
the  west  side  is  still  another  parish,  called  Beloeil.  The 
castle  is  a  stone  fabric,  built  by  the  French  in  1711.  It 
is  about  six  or  eight  rods  square,  encompassing  something 
more  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground.  It  has  four 
square  towel's,  one  at  each  corner,  which  are  upwards  of 
thirty  feet  high.  The  walls  in  general  are  about  five  feet 
less  in  height,  and  do  not  project  so  much.  Many  of  the 
embrasures  or  apertures,  originally  left  for  firing  through, 
have  been  closed  up.  It  is  situated  at  the  water's  edge, 
at  the  foot  of  the  Long  Rapids,  so  called,  and  has  a  ma- 
jestic though  rude  appearance.  The  river  here,  for  sev- 
eral miles  above,  is  from  one  hundred  rods  to  half  a  mile 
or  more  wide  ;  and  where  the  water  is  broken,  as  it  is  for 
a  mile  or  more  in  the  rapids,  it  exhibits  a  very  fine  ap- 
pearance. Having  surmounted  these  obstructions,  the 
river  spreads  out  into  a  basin  or  small  lake,  just  below 
the  castle,  a  mile  or  more  in  each  direction,  from  which 
it  flows  out  by  two  channels,  encompassing  an  island  of 
considerable  extent.  Bateaux  can  come  from  Quebec 
as  far  up  the  river  as  the  castle,  but  no  further.  Nor  is 
it  easy  to  make  head  against  the  stream,  till  you  have 
passed  up  five  or  six  miles  further.  When  the  water  is 
high,  you  may  by  skilful  management  descend  the  rapids 
with  rafts,  and  even  with  bateaux,  in  safety.  When  we 
were  there,  the  water  was  so  low  that  a  canoe  could 
scarcely  pass  without  striking ;  but  we  were  told  that  it 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  101 

sometimes  rises  as  much  as  six  feet  higher.  There  is  a 
garrison  kept  at  the  castle,  consisting  of  a  lieutenant 
and  thirteen  men.  The  French  language  and  Canadian 
manners  prevail  even  to  this  place,  and  French  hus- 
bandry still  spoils  their  beautiful  fields. 

To  Cheesman's  at  St.  John's,  twelve  miles.  Our  ride 
the  whol^  of  this  distance  was  along  the  river  bank,  and 
of  course  very  pleasant.  We  were  of  opinion  that  the 
volume  of  water  passing  here  was  equal  to  that  in  the 
Connecticut  River  at  Bellows  Falls.  An  island,  two  or 
three  miles  in  length,  divides  the  stream  about  half  way 
between  Chambly  and  St.  John's.  Above  that,  it  is  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  and  runs  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  an 
hour.  St.  John's  is  the  most  northerly  place  to  which 
the  vessels  which  ply  on  Lake  Champlain  approach, 
owing  to  the  shallowness  and  rapidity  of  the  water  be- 
low. A  ship-of-war  is  dismantled  and  laid  up  here  ;  it 
has  a  shed  built  over  its  deck,  to  protect  it  from  the 
weather,  so  that,  if  occasion  should  require,  it  might  again 
be  made  serviceable.  We  found  several  vessels  in  the  har- 
bor, sloops  and  schooners,  —  viz.,  the  '*  Constellation," 
"Hope,"  "Nancy,"  &c.,  —  waiting  for  a  favorable  wind. 
There  a.e  upon  the  lake  fifteen  or  twenty  vessels  in  all. 
They  are  employed  in  transporting  passengers,  in  bring- 
ing potash,  beef,  pork,  and  various  kinds  of  produce,  and 
even  articles  of  foreign  merchandise,  from  the  counties 
bordering  on  the  lake,  to  this  place,  and  in  carrying  back 
heavy  foreign  goods.  One  thousand  pounds  sterling  has 
been  collected  in  a  year  at  the  custom-house  at  St. 
John's,  as  a  duty,  on  the  single  article  of  tea  imported 
from  the  United  States. 

The  village  of  St.  John's  stands  on  the  west  side  of 


102  JOURNAL   OF  A 

the  river,  and  contains  about  forty  houses  and  three  or 
four  hundred  people,  besides  the  barracks,  and  a  small 
garrison,  consisting  of  a  few  artillery  men  and  part  of 
a  company  of  infantry.  There  is  but  a  single  company 
of  infantry  allotted  to  the  garrison  here  at  Chambly, 
and  at  the  Isle  aux  Noix,  which  is  twenty  miles  further 
up  the  river.  There  is  here  neither  meeting-house  nor 
church,  nor  any  provision  made  for  the  public  exercise 
of  religion.  The  inhabitants  are  mostly  of  English  ex- 
traction, but  the  English  and  French  languages  are  in- 
discriminately spoken.  From  Montreal  to  St.  John's,  as 
we  came,  was  thirty  miles.  Had  we  come  by  the  way  of 
La  Prairie,  it  would  have  been  but  twenty-seven  ;  but 
nine  miles  of  the  distance  would  have  been  by  water, 
that  being  the  length  of  the  ferry  between  the  island  of 
Montreal  and  La  Prairie.  The  passage  of  this  ferry 
would  also  have  been  in  some  degree  against  the  direc- 
tion of  the  current^  so  that  we  were  told  we  could  not 
effect  it  in  less  than  four  or  five  hours.  What  we  lost 
therefore  in  distance  we  probably  gained  in  time,  and 
had  moreover  the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  castle  of  Cham- 
bly,  and  of  riding  on  the  river  banks  all  the  way  from 
thence  to  St.  John's. 

Having  again  mentioned  Montreal,  and  probably  for 
the  last  time,  it  may  be  proper  to  observe  that  the 
number  of  inhabitants  in  the  city  and  suburbs  is  about 
ten  or  twelve  thousand,  nine  tenths  of  whom  are 
French ;  that  it  contains  three  nunneries,  three  Roman 
Catholic,  and  two  or  three  other  churches,  a  college, 
and  several  other  public  buildings.  The  city  was  for- 
merly surrounded  with  a  wall  and  ditch,  but  both  have 
been  long  neglected,  and  would  afford  no  protection  in 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  103 

case  of  an  attack.  It  suffered  considerably  by  a  fire 
about  two  years  since  ;  but  it  is  fast  recovering  from 
that  misfortune,  and  appears  to  be  in  a  prosperous  and 
flourishing  state. 

There  is  but  little  familiar  intercourse  between  the 
English  and  French  inhabitants.  Very  few  of  the 
French  have  much  property  or  respectability.  In 
general,  they  are  ignorant,  superstitious,  prejudiced, 
mean-spirited,  and  slovenly.  They  are  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  in  their  complexion  from  the  Indians, 
and  in  many  things  they  even  affect  the  Indian  man- 
ners. They  have  an  antipathy  to  the  English,  but  a 
still  greater  one  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  all 
of  whom  they  call  by  the  general  name  of  Bostonians. 

August  8th.  We  had  intended  embarking  this  morn- 
ing on  board  some  of  the  vessels  here,  bound  for  Bur- 
lington in  Vermont ;  but  we  had  the  mortification  to 
find  that  the  wind  was  south,  and  to  learn  that,  while 
it  continued  there,  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  get  on  in 
the  common  mode.  It  required  considerable  patience 
to  be  contented,  and  more  ingenuity  to  find  amusemen 
in  these  circumstances.  We  had  the  consolation,  how- 
ever, of  companions  in  trouble,  there  being  several  other 
travellers  here  as  impatient  to  proceed  up  the  lake  as 
we  were,  and  like  us  depending  for  their  release  from 
confinement  upon  that  most  uncertain  of  all  things,  the 
wind. 

August  9th.  This  was  a  tedious  day.  The  wind 
was  still  adverse,  and  likely  so  to  continue.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  place  told  us  that  the  wind  here  is  almost 
invariably  in  the  north  or  south,  unless  it  blows  a  gale, 
and  that  it  often  continues  in  one  direction  a  week  or 


104  JOUKNAL  OF  A 

ten  days.     This  last  piece  of  information  exhausted  the 
little  patience  we  had  left,  and  we  therefore  hired  an 
open  bateau  and  four  hands  to  row  it  to  Burlington 
Bay.     A  conveyance  in  this  mode  was  neither  so  con- 
venient nor  cheap,  but  more  certain  than  one  by  a  packet. 
August  10th.     Having  with    the    assistance  of  Mr. 
Cheesman,  our  innkeeper,   furnished   ourselves   amply 
with   comfortable   stores   for   our    voyage,   and    having 
also  given  in  our  names  at  the  guard-house,  and  cleared 
out  at  the  custom-house  at  the  expense  of  twenty-five 
cents,  we  left  St.  John's  without  regret ;  not,  however, 
without  returning  our  thanks  to  Mr.  Richardson,  the 
trader,  and  Mr.  McBeth,  the  collector  of  the  customs, 
for  their  civilities  and  politeness.     In  a  place  so  seques- 
tered and  dull,  it  is  of  double  price  ;  and  it  can  nowhere 
be  of  more  A-alue  than  at  St.  John's,  where  there  is  but 
little    society   or   amusement,    where    the    surrounding 
fields,  though  cleared,  are  neither  cultivated  nor  fenced, 
and  where  indolence  seems  to  be  the  order  of  the  day. 
As  we  had  to  contend  both  with  the  wind  and  current, 
our  progress   this  day  was   slow.     The  shores  of  the 
river  for  several  miles  are  so  little  elevated  above  the 
surface  of  the  water  that  they  are   usually  inundated 
in  the  spring  season  to  a  considerable  extent  on  both 
sides,  for  which  reason  they  are  entirely  unsettled.    We 
landed  on  an  uninhabited  spot  on  the  west  side,  nearly 
opposite  to  the  Isle  aux  Noix.     We  were  told  that  there 
was  but  a  sergeant's  guard  upon  the  island,  although  it 
would  require  an  army  properly  to  garrison  the  works 
there. 

The  works  themselves,   although   constructed   at  a 
great  expense  since  the  American  war,  appeared  as  we 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  105 

passed,  as  did  those  at  St.  John's,  to  be  in  a  very  ruin- 
ous state.  When  the  French  possessed  this  country, 
to  prevent  annoyance  or  surprise  from  tlie  English  set- 
tlements, they  used  to  keep  an  iron  chain  stretched 
from  the  Isle  aux  Noix  to  the  mainland  on  each  side. 
Part  of  the  piles  to  which  the  chain  was  fastened  on 
the  west  side  are  still  to  be  seen. 

It  does  not  seem  to  be  agreed  at  what  place  Lake 
Champlain  terminates  in  the  river  Richelieu.    Some  say 
it  is  at  Windmill  Point,  so  called,  which  is  in  the  town 
of  Alburgh  in  Vermont,  and  others  contend  that  the 
lake  extends  to  St.  John's.     It  is  certain,  however,  that 
near  the  United  States  line,    which  is  about   twenty 
miles  above  St    John's,  there  is  a   perceptible  current. 
At  night,  we  reached  Rouse's  at  Rouse's  Point,  so  called, 
which  is  on  the  western  side  of  the  lake,  in  the  town- 
ship of  Champlain  and   State  of  New  York,   twenty- 
four   miles.      Here  we   slept.      Rouse   is  an   Acadian 
Frenchman.     He  told  us  that  he  lived  in  Quebec  when 
it  was  taken  by  Wolfe,  and  that  he  served  as  a  guide 
to  conduct  the  provincial  troops  under  General  Mont- 
gomery, in  their  attempt  upon  that  city  in  the  year 
1775.     He  now  resides  on  a  tract  of  land  granted  him 
by  the  State  of  New  York  as  a  reward  for  that  service. 
His  wife  is  a  Canadian  Frenchwoman,  by  whom  he  has 
had  twenty-four  children,  eight  of  whom  are  now  alive. 
He  did  not  make  a  very  favorable  impression  upon  us. 
He  refused  to  permit  his  wife  to  go  to  mass  in  the 
morning,  whipped  one  of  his  children  severely  for  some 
offence,   and    charged   us    full    price   for   our    meals, 
although  we  furnished  the  materials  ourselves  except 
butter  and  milk,  alleging  as  the  reason  that  we  ate  in 

14 


106  JOURNAL  OF  A 

his  house.  The  house  itself  was  but  a  log  house.  We 
slept  in  the  only  chamber,  to  which  we  ascended  by  a 
ladder. 

Sunday,  August  11th.  In  the  morning,  the  wind 
blew  with  such  violence  ahead,  attended  with  rain,  that 
it  prevented  our  departure  till  near  eight  o'clock.  The 
situation  of  Rouse's  Point  is  romantic.  It  commands 
an  extensive  view  of  the  water,  especially  to  the  south- 
ward. As  we  proceeded  up  the  lake,  a  more  interest- 
ing and  magnificent  prospect  unfolded  on  either  hand. 
Instead  of  the  unvaried  level  horizon  to  which  we  had 
for  some  time  been  accustomed,  we  now  beheld  the 
mountains  of  New  York  and  Vermont  lifting  their  heads 
in  rude  majesty  to  the  clouds.  We  passed  the  Isle  la 
Motte,  North  Hero,  and  South  Hero,  to  the  left ;  and 
the  Great  Chazy  River,  Little  Chazy  River,  Chazy  Point 
and  village,  a  pleasant  settlement.  Point  du  Roche,  where 
we  dined  on  a  rock,  Cumberland  Head  and  Bay,  on  the 
right.  Plattsburgh,  which  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of 
Cumberland  Bay,  is  also  a  pleasant  village.  The  bay 
which  makes  between  Chazy  Point  and  Cumberland 
Head  extends  some  miles  to  the  westward  and  north- 
westward. As  we  passed  it,  the  wind  blew  out  of  it 
very  fresh  with  a  high  and  broken  swell.  Our  course 
was  almost  exactly  in  the  trough,  and  the  bateau  there- 
fore rocked  much.  We  were  several  miles  from  shore. 
The  motion  in  itself  was  disagreeable  ;  but  the  considera- 
tion, which  under  such  circumstances  it  is  impossible  to 
suppress,  that  the  shipping  of  a  sea  or  the  starting  of 
a  plank  might  be  fatal  to  us,  rendered  the  passage  ex- 
tremely unpleasant  to  me.  Yet  we  saw  several  canoes, 
some  of  which  seemed  to  be  hardly  more  than  hollow 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  107 

logs,  with  spread  sails  proceeding  in  various  directions 
from  Cumberland  Head.  We  were  told  that  they  had 
probabl}^  been  to  meeting  at  Plattsburgh,  where  public 
worship,  for  want  of  a  more  suitable  building,  is  per- 
formed in  the  court-house. 

South  Hero,  called  also  Grand  Isle,  exhibits  a  desir- 
able country.     It  has  a  clean,  gravelly,  limestone  beach, 
which  rises  gently  from  the  water,  and  is  agreeably 
variegated  with  luxuriant  woods  and  cultivated  farms. 
The  houses  are  neat,  and  were  generally  surrounded 
with  thrifty  orchards  and   extensive   fields   of  Indian 
corn  and  wheat.    The  large  size  of  the  barns  we  thought 
a  proof  of  a  productive  soil.     The  circumstance  of  being 
obliged  to  pass  three  miles  over  water  to  get  to  the  main 
seems  to  be  the  principal  objection  to  living  upon  this 
favored  island.     Neither  the  North  Hero  nor  the  Isle  la 
Motte  is  equally  inviting ;  though  each  of  those  islands 
as  well  as  South  Hero  constitutes  a  town.     Towards 
night,  the  wind  subsided  ;  and,  having  cleared  a  consider- 
able distance  from  Cumberland  Head,  we  concluded  to 
pass  the  n    row  channel  between  the  southern  extremity 
of  South  Hero  and  Providence  Island,  which  is  the 
shortest  course  to  Burlington  Bay ;  whereas,  had  the 
wind  continued,  we  should,  by  taking  this  course,  have 
been  in  danger  of  drifting  on  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
lake,  before  we  could  have  gained  the  bay.     At  Cum- 
berland Head  is  a  custom-house.     After  we  had  passed 
it  a  few  miles,  we  saw  a  sloop  arrive  and  bring  to  there. 
We  concluded  this  to  have  been  the  vessel  belonging  to 
Captain  Smith,  on  board  which  we  had  engaged  a  pas- 
sage, if  the  wind  had  permitted.     Having  with  difficulty 
got  out  where  the  lake  becomes  broad,  he  was  probably 


108  JOURNAL  OF   A 

able  to  beat  ahead.  We  passed  a  low  island,  the  island 
called  Two  Sisters,  and  Colchester  Point.  It  was  now 
night,  but  we  had  no  alternative  but  to  proceed.  We 
next  reached  the  first  point  which  forms  a  part  of  Bur- 
lington Bay  in  its  largest  extent.  This  point  is  com- 
posed of  solid  rock,  on  which,  however,  a  few  small 
pines  grow.  It  projects  into  the  lake  in  a  western  and 
then  in  a  southern  direction,  forming  a  kind  of  nook ; 
for  a  considerable  distance,  it  does  not  measure  more 
than  two  or  three  rods  across.  Just  before  we  reached 
this  point,  we  were  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  evening 
and  the  surrounding  scenery.  The  lake  was  perfectly 
serene.  To  the  southward,  we  could  discern  no  limits 
to  the  water.  The  nearer  shores  were  mellow  and  pic- 
turesque, and  the  prospect  on  either  hand  was  termi- 
nated by  the  mountains.  The  whole  was  made  visible 
by  the  light  of  the  moon,  which  was  then  at  the  full, 
and  just  risen.  But  scarcely  had  we  made  our  remarks, 
when  suddenly  the  glassy  smoothness  of  the  water  was 
discomposed.  A  black  cloud  in  the  west  assumed  an 
indefinite  and  threatening  appearance,  the  moon  was 
obscured,  all  our  lovely  scenes  vanished,  and  a  copious 
shower  poured  down  upon  us,  Avith  as  little  mercy  as 
if  we  had  been  ever  so  securely  sheltered.  On  this 
occasion,  our  fellow-traveller.  Dr.  Woodhouse,  although 
literally  a  professor  of  philosophy,  lost  it  all.  In  about 
fifteen  minutes,  however,  the  rain  ceased,  the  moon 
again  shone  forth  in  full  splendor,  the  water  and  land 
reappeared,  and  all  the  charms  of  the  evening  were 
restored.  Having  doubled  another  point,  we  could  dis- 
cern the  lights  in  the  houses  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay, 
and  at  length,  about  eleven  o'clock,  reached  the  accus- 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  109 

tomed  landing-place.  With  devout  gratitude  for  our 
preservation,  we  again  found  ourselves  in  New  England. 
From  Rouse's  Point  to  Burlington  is  forty  miles.  We 
were  fortunate  enough  to  be  directed  by  some  persons 
whom  we  met  in  the  streets  to  Holmes's  Hotel,  which 
proved  to  be  an  excellent  house. 

Monday,  August  12th.  Burlington  contained  upwards 
of  two  thousand  inhabitants  at  the  last  census,  since 
which  time  the  number  has  considerably  increased.  The 
soil  of  this  town  is  excellent,  and  the  situation  eligible. 
The  beach  of  the  lake  is  a  clean,  smooth  sand  ;  the  bank 
is  bold,  and  the  land  rises  with  a  gentle  swell  in  a  kind 
of  amphitheatre,  for  near  a  mile  from  the  water.  The 
village  is  laid  out  in  regular  streets  and  squares,  and 
contains  a  jail,  a  large,  commodious  court-house,  a  col- 
lege, not  yet  finished,  and  about  one  hundred  dwelling- 
houses,  besides  shops,  stores,  and  other  buildings.  The 
college  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  We  learned  the  number  of 
scholars  belonging  to  it  was  but  fifteen,  and  that  four 
only  had  as  yet  received  degrees  there.  The  new  build- 
ing, when  completed,  will  accommodate  sixty.  It  is 
most  delightfully  situated  on  the  summit  of  the  emi- 
nence, about  a  mile  from  the  water,  where  it  not  only 
overlooks  the  village,  but  commands  an  extensive  pros- 
pect both  up  and  down  the  lake,  and  of  the  opposite 
shore  and  mountains. 

The  lake  itself  is  here  about  fifteen  miles  wide.  Its 
shores  are  in  general  abrupt  and  mountainous,  whereas  at 
its  northern  extremity  the  surrounding  country  is  so  low 
and  flat  that  a  rise  in  the  lake  of  not  more  than  three  feet 
inundates  a  large  extent  of  it.  Many  appearances  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lake  concur  to  prove  that  in  past  ages  the 


110  JOURNAL  OF   A 

water  of  it  must  have  flowed  about  fifty  feet  higher  than 
it  now  does.  Before  the  St.  Lawrence  forced  its  present 
channel  through  the  rocks  near  Quebec,  Lake  Chaniphiin 
must  have  stood  at  the  same  elevation  with  that  river; 
and,  when  the  St.  Lawrence  subsided,  Lake  Champlain 
must  of  necessity  have  been  drained  also.  We,  this  day, 
visited  the  Lower  Falls,  so  called,  in  the  Onion  River, 
about  four  or  fi  ^  miles  above. its  mouth.  There  is  a 
bridge  at  this  place,  just  below  which  the  river  projects 
into  a  deep  transverse  excavation  in  solid  limestone,  and 
runs  off  almost  at  right  angles  with  its  former  course,  in 
a  channel  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  feet  wide.  About 
a  mile  further  up,  where  there  is  also  a  bridge,  the  river 
has  forced  a  narrow  passage  through  a  remarkably  fine 
limestone.  On  the  southern  side,  the  rock  rises  ex- 
actly perpendicular  from  the  water,  one  hundred  feet. 
The  opposite  shore  is  hardly  so  high  or  steep.  From  this 
place,  a  ledge  of  the  finest  limestone  extends  both  ways, 
and  forms  the  rim  or  shore  of  an  extensive  tract  of  mea- 
dow or  interval  land  above  the  bridge,  now  under  high 
cultivation,  and  which  must  have  been  covered  with 
water  as  high  as  the  ledge,  before  the  river  forced  its 
way  through  the  rock  at  the  bridge. 

Judge  Staunton  is  the  proprietor  of  this  tract  of  land. 
His  house,  which  is  elegant,  stands  on  an  adjoining  emi- 
nence. He  began  a  settlement  at  this  place  before  the 
late  war,  but  abandoned  it  at  the  approach  of  Burgoyne's 
army,  and  did  not  return  till  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
He  can  now  boast  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  New  Eng- 
land. We  next  visited  a  mineral  spring,  which  has  been 
lately  discovered  about  a  mile  from  the  village.  It  has 
been  purchased  by  two  physicians,  who  have  cut  a  road 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  Ill 

to  it,  and  propose  to  erect  a  house  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  visitors  in  its  neighborhood.  Upon  tasting  the 
water,  we  perceived  it  to  be  slightly  chalj'beate,  but  did 
not  think  it  possessed  of  any  very  valuable  property. 
There  must  be  more  efficacy  in  a  tumblerful  of  the 
Ballston  water  than  in  a  gallon  of  this. 

Tuesday,  August  13th.  The  wind  last  night  blew  a 
tempest,  and  we  were  frequently  awakened  by  the  roar- 
ing of  the  lake,  to  rejoice  that  we  were  out  of  the  reach 
of  its  fury,  and  no  longer  the  sport  of  its  caprice. 

The  stages  run  from  Burlington  towards  Boston  only 
on  Fridays,  and  we  therefore  concluded  to  hire  a  Dutch 
wagon  to  transport  us  to  Rutland.  By  the  obliging  offices 
of  Dr.  Crane,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Holmes,  who  showed  us 
great  attention,  we  procured  a  wagon  and  driver,  and 
this  morning  began  our  march.  We  reached  Painter's, 
in  the  city  of  Vergennes,  an  excellent  tavern  to  dine, 
twenty-one  miles.  The  country  between  Burlington 
and  Vergennes  is  very  fine,  agreeably  diversified  with 
gentle  swells,  and  watered  not  only  by  the  lake,  but  La 
Piatt,  Lewis's,  Little  Otter,  and  Otter  Creeks.  The 
forests  are  everywhere  yielding  to  the  axe,  and  are  suc- 
ceeded by  cultivated  fields.  We  were  particularly  struck 
by  the  contrast  between  the  miserable  husbandry  and 
wretched  habitations  of  Canada,  and  the  judicious  cul- 
tivation, excellent  fences,  extensive  cornfields,  large  and 
flourishing  orchards,  and  the  commodious,  and  in  many 
instances  elegant,  houses  of  Vermont.  Vergennes  ex- 
hibits a  collection  of  handsome  buildings,  compact  and 
well-arranged,  in  the  midst  of  a  country  still  retaining 
the  marks  of  its  original  wilderness.  The  village,  how- 
ever, though  intended  for  a  city,  and  incorporated  as 


112  JOURNAL  OF  A 

such,  is  neither  so  large  nor  flourishing  as  Burlington. 
The  only  public  building  at  Vergennes  is  one  erected 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  legislature  ;  and  yet  that 
honorable  body  have  never  thought  fit  to  assemble  there 
but  once.  The  building  itself  is  well  constructed  and 
i^andsome,  but  its  beauty  is  much  impaired  by  a  slender 
and  ill-constructed  cupola,  which  rises  from  the  centre 
of  the  roof.  Otter  Creek  passes  through  the  city.  It  is 
a  respectable  stream  worthy  to  be  called  a  river,  and 
affords  navigation  from  this  place  to  the  lake,  which  is 
distant  four  or  five  miles.  In  the  afternoon,  we  resumed 
our  journey.  About  eight  miles  from  Vergennes,  we 
passed  the  Otter  Creek  in  Weybridge,  at  which  place 
we  saw  the  first  meeting-house  we  had  seen  after  leav- 
ing Bloomfield  in  New  York.  We  had  been  advised  to 
go  as  far  as  Chipman's  tavern,  four  miles  beyond  Mid- 
dlebury,  to  sleep ;  but,  being  belated,  we  v/ere  obliged  to 
stop  at  the  hotel,  near  the  court-house,  kept  by  Case, — 
a  tolerable  house.  Thirteen  miles  from  Vergennes,  we 
repassed  the  creek.  It  is  but  nineteen  years  since  this 
settlement  at  Middlebury  was  begun,  and  but  eleven 
since  the  first  framed  house  was  raised  in  it. 

Now  the  village  contains  one  thousand  inhabitants, 
one  hundred  dwelling-houses,  most  of  which  are  hand- 
some, and  some  of  which  are  even  splendid.  Two  at- 
tracted our  notice  in  particular,  one  of  them  belongs  to 
Daniel  Chipman,  Esq.,  a  lawyer,  and  is  said  to  be  the 
best  house  in  Vermont.  The  other,  which  cannot  be 
much  inferior,  belongs  to  Mr.  Warren,  a  clothier ;  it  is 
of  brick,  handsomely  adorned  with  marble,  constructed 
with  much  taste,  and  situated  in  a  romantic  spot  over- 
looking the  creek.     The  village  contains  also  an  elegant 


TOUB  TO   NIAGARA   FALLS.  113 

court-house,  a  prison,  and  a  spacious  college,  in  which 
are  eighty  students,  exclusive  of  those  in  the  academy 
connected  with  the  college.  It  is  but  about  two  years 
since  this  seminary  began  to  confer  degrees.  At  present, 
it  is  supported  by  private  donations,  and  the  fees  paid 
for  tuition  ;  but  the  corporation  intend,  if  possible,  to 
obtain  for  the  use  of  their  institution  a  part  of  the  lands 
now  allotted  by  law  for  Burlington  College. 

The  village  of  Middlebury  is  situated  on  both  sides 
the  Otter  Creek,  at  a  place  where  there  is  a  remarkable 
fall  of  a^)Out  twenty  feet  in  the  stream.  It  is  to  this 
circumsta  '^^^  that  the  place  is  probably  indebted  for  its 
rapid  grow.U;  for  the  w^ater  is  made  to  work  several 
grist-mills,  saw-mills,  clothing-mills,  carding-machines, 
a  forge,  and  a  trip-hammer.  But  what  attracted  our 
more  particular  attention  was  a  stone-mill,  or  machine 
for  cutting  marble  into  slabs.  The  quarry  from  which 
the  blocks  are  taken  is  literally  at  the  door,  so  that  it 
requires  much  more  of  it  to  be  cut  away  to  afford  a  con- 
venient passage  into  the  mill.  The  marble  is  white,  a 
little  clouded,  and  has  a  very  fine  grain.  The  machine 
will  cut  a  block  into  six  or  seven  slabs  at  a  single  opera- 
tion, in  a  quarter  the  time  it  would  require  two  men  to 
cut  it  once.  The  quarry  was  discovered  and  the  machine 
erected  within  a  year,  by  a  Mr.  Judd,  the  proprietor  of 
them,  who  is  confined  within  the  prison  yard  for  debt. 
He  intends  to  transport  the  marble  for  sale  to  New 
York. 

August  14th.     Leaving  Middlebury,  we  rode  a  few 

rods   on   a    turnpike   which   they   were    constructing, 

leading  to  Woodstock,  after  which  we  travelled  several 

miles  through  a  charming  country,  along  the  bank  of 

15 


114  JOURNAL  OF   A 

Otter  Creek.  We  then  passed  Middle,  --y  River,  after 
that  the  Leicester  River  in  Salisbury.  Rocks  of  the 
marble  kind  abound  in  all  this  region  in  vast  masses. 
Quarries  and  even  whole  mountains  of  it  are  found 
also  in  Rutland,  of  a  quality  said  to  be  even  superior  to 
that  of  Middlebury.  Hitherto  it  has  been  wrought  (  / 
by  hand.  There  seems  to  be  a  range  of  country  west 
of  the  Green  Mountains,  extending  from  Pittsfurd  to 
Burlington  and  Jericho,  in  which  marble  abounds  more 
or  less.  Has  any  ever  been  discovered  eastward  from 
the  Green  Mountains  ?  It  is  akin  to  limestone,  and  sel- 
dom or  never  found  without  it.  Lime  itself  is  not  very 
common  in  Massachusetts,  and  has  never  been  met 
with  till  lately  ;  and  now  but  in  one  place  in  New 
Hampshire.  It  is  the  prevailing,  stone  in  the  western 
part  of  Vermont. 

We  reached  Woodward's  in  Leicester,  an  excellent 
house,  to  breakfast,  twelve  miles.  It  is  but  twelve 
years  since  this  place  was  cleared.  Now  here  are 
smooth  fields,  fine  orchards,  large  houses  and  barns, 
and  excellent  fences,  —  objects  not  to  be  met  with  in 
those  parts  of  Canada  which  have  been  cultivated  half 
a  century.  The  forests  on  the  western  side  of  Vermont 
are  chiefly  of  hard  wood. 

To  Widow  Keith's  in  Pittsford,  twelve  miles.  This 
woman  keeps  a  good  tavern.  Although  she  is  called 
a  widow,  she  has  a  husband ;  but  he  is  a  miserable  sot, 
and  therefore  the  sign  still  retains,  and  the  house  is 
still  called  by,  her  former  name. 

To  Harry  Gould's  in  Rutland,  eight  miles,  to  dine. 
I  walked  this  stage,  and  by  mistaking  the  road  made  it 
ten  miles.     Our  fare  at  Gould's  was  rather  ordinary. 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  115 

Rutland  is  a  pleasant  village,  containing  a  meeting- 
house, State-house,  and  about  one  hundred  dwelling- 
houses,  forming  one  street,  extending  north  and  south 
near  a  mile  in  length.  The  burying-ground  here  is 
remarkable  for  its  neatness,  and  for  the  elegance  of  its 
grave  and  tomb  stones,  which  are  of  marble,  and 
arranged  in  the  most  exact  order.  Leaving  Rutland, 
we  travelled  a  luvv  miles  still  on  level  ground;  then, 
bending  a  little  to  the  left,  we  took  leave  of  Otter 
Creek,  and  began,  though  almost  insensibly,  to  rise 
into  higher  ground.  Without  perceiving  any  consider- 
able ascent,  we  at  length  found  ourselves  among  the 
mountains,  several  of  which,  of  very  respectable  magni- 
tude, arose  near  us  on  either  hand.  Our  road,  which 
was  now  turnpike,  was  alongside  of  a  small  stream, 
tributary  to  the  Otter  Creek,  which  has  excavated  for 
itself  a  channel  of  prodigious  depth.  At  the  place 
where  it  breaks  out  into  the  open  country,  it  seems  to 
have  forced  a  passage  literally  through  the  mountain. 
This  channel,  as  nearly  as  we  could  ascertain  from  the 
road,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile,  is  not  more  than 
two  or  three  rods  wide  at  bottom,  yet  the  banks  are 
almost  perpendicular,  and  more  than  two  hundred  feet 
high. 

To  Finney's  in  Shrewsbury,  a  tolerable  house,  to 
sleep,  nine  miles.  Here  we  overtook  the  mail-stage 
which  runs  from  Rutland  to  Walpole.  Fortunately,  it 
was  empty.  We  engaged  our  passage  in  it,  and  dis- 
missed our  Burlington  wagon,  the  driver  of  which 
appeared  to  be  tired  of  his  journey,  and  we  were  as 
heartily  tired  of  him. 

August  15th.    Rose  at  four  o'clock,  and  pursued  our 


116  JOURNAL  OF   A 

journey.  In  Mount  Holly,  distant  about  fifteen  miles 
south-eastward  from  Rutland,  we  passed  the  height  of 
land,  and  very  soon  after  perceived  a  stream,  the  head 
of  Black  River,  running  an  easterly  course  towards 
Connecticut  River.  This  was  the  first  water  we  had 
seen,  after  leaving  the  Mohawk,  which  does  not  dis- 
charge itself  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  As  before 
reaching  the  height  of  land  we  had  not  been  conscious 
of  any  remarkable  ascent,  so  neither  did  we  afterwards 
perceive  any  very  considerable  descent.  The  road  is 
made  as  near  to  the  side  of  the  streams  as  possible,  and 
is  in  general  pretty  good.  In  some  places  where  it  is 
made  along  the  mountain  side,  there  are  frightful  preci- 
pices to  the  stream  below.  Many  thriving  settlements 
are  to  be  sSen  among  the  mountains.  The  soil  in  gen- 
eral is  strong  and  productive,  and  much  more  free  from 
rocks  than  the  interior  of  New  Hampshire. 

To  Button's,  a  very  good  house,  in  Cavendish,  to 
breakfast,  eighteen  miles.  Passing  the  Black  River 
near  Button's  house,  we  travelled  over  a  long  hill,  and 
soon  after  came  to  the  bank  of  Williams  River,  the 
course  of  which  we  pursued  till  we  came  to  Connecticut 
River.  From  t)utton's  to  Bellows  Falls  is  twenty-two 
miles ;  from  thence  to  Southard's  in  Walpole  is  four 
miles.  Our  whole  journey  this  day  was  forty-four 
miles.  That  pernicious  weed,  the  Canada  thistle, 
seems  to  be  approaching  the  sea-coast ;  for  we  saw  it 
even  after  crossing  the  Connecticut  River. 

At  Walpole,  we  began  to  realize  our  proximity  to 
home,  by  meeting  with  people  of  our  acquaintance,  and 
by  finding  late  Boston  newspapers,  especially  the  "  Cen- 
tinel "  of  the  preceding  day.  Southard  keeps  a  good 
house. 


TOUR  TO  NIAGARA   FALLS.  117 

August  16th.  The  stage  does  not  go  from  this  place 
towards  Boston  till  Saturday  morninsr.  We  were  there- 
fore  to  find  amusement  in  Walpole  for  this  day.  We 
spent  the  morning  in  devouring  the  contents  of  the  late 
newspapers  which  we  found  here,  a  species  of  entertain- 
ment to  which  we  had  long  been  strangers.  Having 
taken  an  early  dinner,  in  the  afternoon  w^e  went  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Mr.  Geyer  at  the  Falls.  He  received  and 
entertained  us  very  politely.  His  house  is  spacious, 
neat,  and  genteelly  furnished,  and  his  garden  is  hand- 
some and  well  improved.  His  accommodations  seem 
the  more  agreeable  from  being  contrasted  with  the 
rudeness  of  the  surrounding  scenery.  Nature  seems  to 
exhibit  herself  here  in  an  undress.  Immediately  behind 
the  house,  the  mountain  rises  in  a  nearly  perpendicular 
precipice  five  or  six  hundred  feet.  In  front,  the  Con- 
necticut River  is  compressed  to  less  than  a  rod  in 
extent  by  the  rocks,  through  which  it  forces  its  way  in 
a  very  irregular  channel,  with  great  impetuosity. 

When  Mr.  Geyer  was  aboit  building  his  house,  he 
had  contracted  with  a  man  in  his  neighborhood  for  the 
stones  for  his  cellar ;  but  a  very  unexpected  supply 
superseded  the  contract.  A  shower  loosened  a  mass  of 
the  rock  from  the  brow  of  the  mountain  behind  the 
house,  so  that  it  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  precipice,  and 
rolled  to  the  very  edge  of  the  cellar,  which  proved  to 
be  fully  sufficient  for  the  walls  of  it.  From  Mr.  Geyer's 
contiguity  to  the  mountain,  I  should  think  that  he 
would  sometimes  entertain  apprehensions  that  similar 
phenomena  might  again  happen,  when  the  fragments 
might  roll  a  little  further,  and  would  therefore  be  much 
less  acceptable.     Rattlesnakes  abound  in  this  mountain. 


118  JOURNAL  OF   A 

We  descended  the  river  bank,  and  passed  dry  shod  to 
the  brink  of  the  stream  at  the  Falls,  over  beds  of  rock, 
which  during  the  freshets  are  covered.  This  cataract, 
considerable  as  it  is,  when  compared  with  that  at 
Niagara  seems  perfectly  contemptible.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  uncommon  firmness  of  the  rock  here,  there  are 
many  cylindrical  excavations  in  it  of  great  size  and 
depth.  Some  of  them  are  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  deep.  Major  Williams  and  my- 
self successively^  descended  into  one  which  was  dry.  It 
was  six  feet  deep,  and  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  at 
top,  but  broader  near  the  bottom.  It  would  be  a  very 
secure  hiding-place. 

Connecticut  River,  as  well  as  the  St.  Lawrence, 
heretofore  flowed  much  higher  than  it  now  does.  The 
spot  where  Mr.  Geyer's  house  stands  was  probably 
alluvial,  and  the  foot  of  the  mountain  behind  it  was 
washed  by  the  current.  Many  of  the  rocks  here  and  in 
the  vicinity,  which  are  now  far  above  the  reach  of  the 
water,  retain  marks  of  its  operations.  This  considera- 
tion accounts  for  the  different  strata  of  interval  lands 
on  its  banks. 

The  foot  of  Bellows  Falls  was  formerly  a  celebrated 
place  for  the  salmon  and  shad  fishing.  It  was  the 
highest  part  of  the  river  to  which  the  shad  ascended ; 
but  a  dam  which  has  within  a  few  years  been  built 
across  the  river,  about  forty  miles  below,  at  Montague, 
has  so  entirely  obstructed  the  passage  of  the  fish  that 
not  a  salmon  or  a  shad  has  since  been  taken  above  it. 

The  canal  bv  Bellows  Falls,  with  the  mills  and  water- 
works  upon  it,  is  the  property  of  Colonel  Atkinson,  of 
New  York.     They  have  cost  him  ninety  thousand  dol- 


TOUR  TO   NIAGARA  FALX.S.  110 

lars,  but  do  not  yield  an  equivalent  income.  These 
works  have  a  rough  and  clumsy  appearance,  and  seem 
not  to  have  been  well  designed  or  executed.  At  even- 
ing, we  returned  to  Southard's. 

Saturday,  August  17th.  At  five  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing, we  took  our  departure  from  Walpole  in  the  Groton 
stage.  From  the  high  ground  over  which  the  road 
passes,  between  that  place  and  the  point  where  you 
have  a  very  extensive  prospect  of  the  south-eastern 
quarter  of  Vermont,  the  surface  is  extremely  mountain- 
ous and  irregular.  These  inequalities,  though  on  a 
larger  scale,  bear  a  resemblance  to  what  one  may  sup- 
pose would  be  the  appearance  of  the  ocean,  if  during 
a  tempest  it  were  suddenly  to  become  solid. 

To  Holbrook's  in  Keene,  a  very  good  house,  to 
breakfast,  thirteen  miles.  The  third  New  Hampshire 
turnpike  which  leads  from  Walpole  to  Boston,  and  on 
which  we  were  now  travelling,  is  a  very  great  improve- 
ment upon  the  old  road.  Some  of  the  worst  hills,  how- 
ever, over  which  it  passes  might  have  been  avoided, 
and  the  corporation  have  it  now  in  contemplation  to 
alter  the  course  for  that  purpose. 

To  Danforth's  in  Jaffrey,  to  dine,  sixteen  miles;  a 
poor  house.  Here,  almost  for  the  first  time  during  our 
journey,  we  had  occasion  to  complain  of  the  bad  quality 
of  the  bread.  In  the  very  depths  of  the  forests  through 
which  we  had  passed,  we  had  uniformly  found  good 
bread.  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark  that  in  all  the  new 
settlements  the  flavor  of  the  meat  is  remarkably  fine. 
The  mutton  in  particular,  both  in  grain  and  taste,  has 
a  striking  resemblance  to  venison.  In  our  last  stage, 
we  passed  several  miles  along  the  foot  of  the  Monad- 


120  JOURNAL   OF  A 

nock.  The  appearance  of  this  mountain  in  a  near  view 
is  very  impressive  and  majestic,  owing  perhaps  not 
more  to  its  size  than  to  its  detached  situation,  which 
exposes  it  to  view  on  every  quarter  in  its  whole  mag- 
nitude. Most  of  the  woods  which  formerly  grew  on  its 
sides  have  lately  been  destroyed  by  fire.  It  is  difficult 
to  conceive  how  they  could  have  grown  where  they 
did,  for  the  whole  mountain  seems  now  to  be  one  vast 
mass  of  rocks.  In  this  stage,  we  were  also  gratified 
with  t]  0  sight  of  a  part  of  Massachusetts.  Our  attach- 
ment to  our  native  State  had  not  abated  with  our 
absence.  With  respect  to  its  soil,  climate,  water,  and 
general  face  of  the  country,  the  manners  and  customs 
of  its  inhabitants,  and  the  many  comforts  of  life  which 
it  affords,  taken  all  together,  it  gains  by  a  comparison 
with  any  other  country  which  we  had  seen. 

To  Batchelder's  in  New  Ipswich,  a  very  good  house, 
to  sleep,  ten  miles.  We  arrived  here  between  four  and 
five  o'clock ;  and,  as  we  were  now  within  twenty  miles 
of  Groton,  we  had  sufficient  time  to  have  gone  there  this 
afternoon.  But  this  was  the  place  established  for  the 
stage  to  stop  at  over  night ;  and,  as  the  horses  were  tired, 
we  could  not  persuade  the  driver  to  proceed.  Not 
being  able  to  procure  any  other  conveyance,  we  sub- 
mitted to  the  necessity  of  passing  the  night  here. 

Sunday,  August  18th.  Regularly,  the  stage  does  not 
go  from  this  place  till  Monday  morning ;  but,  impatient 
of  being  longer  detained  here,  we  prevailed  on  the  driver 
for  some  additional  fare  to  proceed  with  us  this  morn- 
ing, and  we  arrived  at  my  house  in  Groton  in  conven- 
ient season  to  dine.  Here  we  adjusted  our  money 
concerns,  which  we  effected  with  great  facility,  in  con- 


TOUR   TO  NIAGARA  FALLS.  121 

sequence  of  the  simple  method  which  we  had  adopted 
at  first.  This  was  no  other  than  to  take  an  account  of 
the  sum  which  each  one  had,  deducting  from  that  the 
sum  each  one  now  had  left,  and  adding  all  the  balances 
together  gave  the  whole  expense,  and  enabled  us  to 
complete  a  settlement  in  a  few  minutes.  The  expense 
to  each  one  was  short  of  one  hundred  and  seventy 
dollars.^ 

Monday,  August  19th.  The  rest  of  the  company 
resumed  their  seats  in  the  stage  this  morning  to  Boston, 
on  the  day  which  completed  six  weeks  from  the  time  of 
our  departure  from  that  place.  Thus  terminated  an 
excursion  which  had  afforded  us  much  diversified  enter- 
tainment, and  had  also  been  attended  with  some  incon- 
veniences. These  consisted  principally  in  the  various 
deprivations  and  exposures  incident  to  travelling  by 
water.  For  the  encouragement  of  future  travellers, 
however,  we  may  with  propriety  affirm  that  the  tour 
was  interesting  throughout,  that  it  produced  much 
more  pleasure  than  pain  in  the  performance,  and  that  it 
still  yields  considerable  amusement  in  retrospect. 


Our  direct  distances  amount  to      .     .     .     1190  miles. 
Our  deviations 165      „ 

1355      „ 


16 


